Roleplaying Gone Wrong, Book 1
by TyrothDarkstorm
Summary: Thinking that they could all do with some R&R, Tyroth and Sephie visit their friends and introduce them to the world of Dungeons and Dragons, with mixed results. However, as is basically the norm for them, strange things can happen even during the calmest of times. Possible M rating for fictional violence, foul language and possible sexual content later on. Chapter 15 up! On hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: As I've stated before, I own nothing but my own ideas and characters, everything else belongs to their respective owners.**

 **This version of Monalisa, as well as Pandora and Kemeko belongs to my good friend Bloodrayne666, we treat each other's stories as canon material.**

 **Dungeons and Dragons belongs to Wizards of the Coast and their Illithid masters, who do not wish to eat our very succulent brains. Like them, I take no responsibility for any character that might get incinerated, dissolved, frozen, dismembered, possessed, transformed or any other things that might happen as they delve into the dark, monster infested areas that they know they should avoid at all cost.**

 **Roleplaying Gone Wrong, Book 1**

 **Chapter 1**

 **An Adventure In The Making**

Monalisa and the turtles walked through the sewers to the lair, returning after their first patrol for the night. It had been a very calm night, with only a handful of minor criminals to deal with, both the Foot and the Purple Dragons keeping a low profile. But there was one thing that had puzzled the mutants, the fact that they had found a few groups of criminals already dealt with, but no signs of by whom.

"Tonight was a let down." said Raphael. "I was looking forward to a good workout."

"Me too, honey." said Monalisa. "But I guess someone else beat us to it, but I wonder who. Casey perhaps?"

"Not impossible, but it seemed too… recent, and it was quite the distance between the different groups. My guess is that someone else might have dealt with some, if not all of the thugs." said Donatello.

"Great, more mystery vigilantes. Giving me a deja vu feeling." said Michelangelo.

"I think we should consult with master Splinter, hear what he has to say. But I'm hoping that we might be able to earn some new allies, rather than enemies." said Leonardo as the group of five entered the lair.

"Will you settle for some old allies instead?" a happy, female voice said right as the door closed. An intense green gecko mutant stepped out from around a corner, greeting the others with a smile.

"Sephie?!" the group exclaimed.

The lizard just beamed and ran over to the others, meeting Monalisa in a big hug.

"It's so good to see you again!" she said.

"You too, Sephie! It's been too long." said Monalisa. "But when did you get here? And why are you here?"

"We just felt like we should do a surprise visit, as for how long we've been here, we've been waiting for about fifteen minutes." said the large red dragon mutant, Tyroth, as he too walked in from another area of the lair together with master Splinter.

"Yeah, you guys seemed to take so long to get here, I was almost starting to get worried." said Sephie.

"No need to worry about us. We can take care of ourselves." said Raphael.

"That we know. Hope you don't mind that we took care of a few other guys on the way here." said Tyroth. "Well, I took care of them, while Sephie looked after the Geckolings."

"So it was you. Huh, that does make sense. You two can easily get around in a short time." said Donatello.

"Yeah, and that helped with our kids too, they could sleep for most of the way. Especially on the Ninjet." said Sephie. "But now they're done napping for the time, so they're playing together with their cousins."

"Pandora and Kemeko were very happy for the company of Freya and Loki. They have been playing in the playroom while our guests have been keeping me company while waiting for your return, my children." said the old rat with a smile. "They seem to have been looking forward to spending some time with you, so I recommend that you oblige, I will keep watch over the small ones. Your training can continue tomorrow."

"No arguments from me!" Michelangelo cheered. "So, what are we doing? Watch some movies? Go skating? Game tournament?"

"Actually, we already have something planned. If you're up for it." said Sephie.

"Now I'm curious." said Monalisa.

* * *

The dragon and gecko lead their friends into the TV area, where a table with several chairs around it had been placed. On the table were dozen sheets of paper, many pencils, several books, a small piece of crystal and hundreds of small pieces of plastic in various geometrical shapes and colours.

"What the shell is this?" Michelangelo asked. "Please don't tell me we have to do a test!"

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Mikey. Or, at least not, in the normal way." said Leonardo as he picked up one of the books, reading the title. "'Dungeons and Dragons. Player's Handbook'."

"Dungeons and Dragons? Ain't that a nerd game?" asked Raphael.

"I'll have you know, love, that I used to play that 'nerd game' in High School." Monalisa said, giving her lover a half stern look.

"Um… well… you see… um…"

"Just stop before you dig an even deeper grave for yourself, Raph." Tyroth said with a grin. Raphael looked very uncomfortable, but Monalisa just smiled and gave him a light pat on the head.

"It's okay, Raph. I'm not offended in any way." she said. "I didn't play it that much, just tried it a couple of times together with some of my friends. It was kind of fun, if a bit weird at first, but it just didn't work out with my schedule, self defence classes and such things were higher priorities to me."

"I've played an older version of Dungeons and Dragons, or DnD as it's also called. Used to play it with my siblings way back when. It was my brother Joshua that got hooked on it, so we played it every other weekend, at least until he lost interest." said Sephie.

"So both of you have past experience with this game, or game series I suppose." said Leonardo. "What about you, Tyroth? Are you in the same camp as the girls or the rest of us?"

"Haven't played DnD before, but I have played a Swedish counterpart to it, _Drakar och Demoner_. Translates to Dragons and Demons, and considering the heritage of the well, it's actually a little ironic. Didn't play that much though, just picked it up a few months before we emigrated from Sweden."

"Where did you find all of this, by the way?" asked Donatello.

"The paper sheets we printed from the web, simple as that, but all the books and dice we actually found during one of our scavenging trips to the surface." Sephie explained. "Someone had just thrown it all out, found it in a box among the trash. And that actually surprised me, for these books aren't cheap. All in all, these things, dice included, would easily cost a couple of hundred dollars."

"So these things are dice?" Michelangelo asked, picking up and inspecting a few of the pieces of plastic. "I almost thought they were some kind of candy."

"I'm rather curious about that die in particular." said Donatello, pointing at the lone crystal die, it having twenty sides and the numbers. "Haven't had the best experiences with crystals."

"We all remember the last time we ran into a magic crystal, Donnie. I even checked it for magic properties, but didn't find anything." said Tyroth. "It was together with the rest of the things, and as far as we've been able to tell, it's just a piece of quartz or similar."

"Then I'm cool with it."

"Okay, for those of us that don't know how this works, can you explain it?" said Michelangelo.

"I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I'm with Mikey on this. Got no idea what we would do." said Raphael.

"It's rather simple really, though it might sound more complicated than it is if I try to explain it." said Tyroth, gathering his thoughts before continuing.

"In short, you as the players will have your characters that are part of a story told by the Dungeon Master, or DM for short. The DM tells everything that happens, describes the surroundings, plays all other characters and monsters in the world, while you are free to act on your own, after what kind of character you have.

It's also the DM's job to adapt the story in accordance to your choices. Helping one character might give you something in return, but could also get you new enemies with others. Choices can have consequences that are not always apparent. As for the dice, the represent the underlying randomness and factors that decide a lot in life, so you roll them to determine if you succeed on certain things, such as attacks, persuasions and more, and you use different dice for different things."

Leonardo and Donatello seemed to understand Tyroth's explanation, but as the dragon looked at Raphael and Michelangelo, they just stood there like a pair of question marks.

"… See it as the origin from which many roleplaying video games get their systems and rules."

"Oh! Now I get it! Like their great grandfather or something!" said Michelangelo with a proud smile, receiving a nod from Tyroth.

"Even Mikey understands this? Now I really feel dumb." said Raphael.

"I felt the same way when I was new to the game," said Sephie. "but after the first few times, I felt that I had gotten a decent hang of it, and was enjoying it too."

"So are you guys willing to try?" Tyroth asked.

"I'm game." said Monalisa. "I might only have played it a little, but I kinda liked it, and had I had more time for it I might just have played more. And with our children playing together, under master Splinter's watch, we won't have to worry about them for a while."

"It does seem like it could be quite fun, and from what I understand it also have tactical aspects. If nothing else, it will be something new, so I'm in." said Donatello.

"Me too! This seems awesome!" Michelangelo almost cheered, getting excited.

"Don't know about this." said Raphael, feeling very hesitant.

"Aw, come on, love, it will be fun." said Monalisa. "At least give it a try for me."

Seeing his mate batting her eyelashes at him, with sweet and innocent eyes, Raphael couldn't say no without feeling guilty.

"Fine." he sighed in defeat. The other mutants couldn't help but chuckle at the hot headed turtle, earning them an annoyed glare. Monalisa gave her lover a quick kiss on his cheek as a thank you, which did improve his mood, if only slightly.

"Looks like I'm the last one then," said Leonardo. "and in all honesty, while I am rather sceptical, I am also intrigued. And quite frankly, it would have been boring not to join in if all of you are playing."

"Sweet! Then let's get started on making some characters for us!" said Sephie.

"I know this part! It's like this in many of my games!" said Michelangelo.

"Do we need to read all these books for that?" asked Raphael.

"Only the Player Handbook, and not all at once. It holds everything a player need to know, from basic rules to spells." said Tyroth. "I, on the other hand, will be taking on the role of Dungeon Master, so I have more books with additional rules, monsters and more. Luckily, I've read them all cover to cover, so I know where to look."

"Refresh my memory, how do we make our characters?" said Monalisa.

"We start with picking a class, such as barbarian or wizard, a race, like elves, orcs and humans, and work out a backstory to them. When it comes to the race, however, I thought that we might all use a variant of the Lizardfolk at first, just to have some familiarity."

"No turtle people? What a bummer." said Michelangelo.

"Don't worry, Mikey, I'll adjust the world for that. I also think that we should start with characters on a higher level, just to have a bit more of an advantage. That will also give us access to the class specializations as well."

"Hey, I just got a wild idea."

"Really? Do tell, Sephie." said Leonardo.

"How about we make each other's characters instead of our own? Just put our names on a few pieces of paper and the each pick one at random, and who ever we get, we make that person's character. We would probably just pick what feels most familiar, but this way, someone else will have to figure that out instead."

"I like that idea, it will be fun to see what others would paint us as in this game." said Monalisa. "And we won't tell who's got who until we're all done."

As the mutants started working on the characters, going over the rules in the books with the aid of the more experienced players, Raphael sighed in his mind.

'The things that I do for my mate.'

 **A bit of build up and basics explained, just to make sure that everyone is roughly on the same page for this crossover, which, in case you haven't figured it out yet, is with Tmnt 2003 and D &D Fifth Edition. Another first it seems, as of writing, no one else has published a crossover in this category. Here's hoping that this one is as popular as my other one, Mutants Misplaced.**

 **As some of you might have noticed, the title includes 'Book 1'. This is because I don't want to get locked down with this story for too long, as it could continue indefinitely. By divining it into books, I can take breaks from it and focus on other things as well. And should it not be very liked, I might just stop at one book. We'll all see how it works out in the end.**

 **So what characters do you think our heroes will get? Leave your guess your the review, if any, and we'll see next time. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Filling A Role**

After little more than half an hour, the group had finished making their Dungeons and Dragons characters, or rather, each others'. Following Sephie's idea, they had all been assigned to make the character of someone else, determined by randomly giving everyone the name of someone else. With no one knowing who made their character, or how it would turn out, everyone were equally excited and worried to what they might get.

"Okay, everyone done?" Tyroth asked, looking over to all the others around the table.

"I think so." said Monalisa." Let's see here… class, race, base equipment, name, level. Yep! Everything's done."

"Same here!" said Michelangelo.

"It does seem like we're all done, Tyroth." said Leonardo. "We're just missing our backgrounds at the moment."

"I have to say, it was a little difficult to create a character at first, but once I understood how it worked, the hardest was actually to decide what to pick." said Donatello.

"That's always the hardest part." said Sephie. "There are always so many options."

"Ain't that the truth…" said Tyroth. "but if we're all done, let's reveal who we all got, and what we made them into. I'll go first, then we go… let's go counter clockwise around the table, just to mix up the order a bit."

"Okay, so who's you got, T?" Raphael asked, eager to get the whole thing over with.

"I got Donnie's character, and believe it or not, but I actually think that you would be a Wizard."

"A Wizard?! A spellcaster of all things?" Donatello asked shocked. "Granted, almost every class had access to magic in some form, but a pure mage? I don't follow, Tyroth."

"Here's how it is, the Wizard learns spells differently than the other classes, most of which just get their new spells from higher powers or similar, but the Wizard learns through studies, through systematically picking apart the contents of scrolls and books, learning how it all works on a fundamental level."

"That sounds like Donnie alright." said Sephie.

"My thoughts exactly. On top of that, your specialisation is the School of Abjuration, focusing on Abjuration spells, which you learn easier than others. Those spells basically blocks, banishes or protects, and you also increase your own protection with them as well."

"Hmm, you know, I think I could like this character." said Donatello.

"Then it's my turn." said Monalisa. "And the one I got is Leonardo. At first, I thought he would make a good Fighter, going for a knight of sorts, but then I found the Paladin, holy warriors that bind themselves to a sacred oath, different oaths giving different spells and more. For Leo, I picked the Oath of Devotion, Paladins of this oath value honesty, courage, compassion, honour and duty, the very ideals of a knight in shining armour, just like Leo himself."

"You're too kind, Mona." Leonardo said with a faint blush.

"Just how I think you are, after all you've done. But this could have fitted almost any of us to some extent, though I think you might be the closest. Anyway, that's all I had, now it's your turn, honey."

"Okay…" Raphael sighed. "Well… I got Mikey."

"I'm not looking forward to this." Michelangelo said.

"You and me both. I had a hard time with this, but whether through good or bad luck, I found this, the Sorcerer. Probably the most chaotic thing ever, if this Wild Magic specialisation is to be believed. And Mikey, he is chaotic, so I just thought it was as good as anything."

"So, I'm a mage too, but not a Wizard? What's the difference?"

"The Wizard learns magic through studies, as I said earlier, but a Sorcerer is born with magic for one reason or another, which manifests at some point in life. And your Wild Magic can also create random effects every now and then." Tyroth explained.

"Oh, so it's almost like the X-Men! Cool! Thanks, bro!"

"Don't thank me yet, I have the sinking feeling that I've just added to our problems."

"That remains to be seen." said Donatello. "But now it's my turn, and I drew Mona's name."

"Should I be afraid?" Monalisa asked.

"No, no, not at all. I read all the different classes, and this one feels like a perfect fit for you, the Monk."

"Wait, monk? So like a priest? Shouldn't she be a nun then?" said Michelangelo, scratching his head in confusion.

"Not that kind of monk, Mikey. These are of monastic orders that practice martial arts as well as meditation, Kung Fu Monks if you will. And since our sister is the best Kung Fu practitioner we know, this was an easy choice."

"Aww, thanks Donnie, but I'm not that good, I still had a lot to learn before my mutation."

"Still, I think you're an excellent martial artist when it comes to Kung Fu, and you've not only learned our style of fighting as well, but also taught us some Kung Fu too, so my verdict stands. Anyway, getting back on track, I also chose the Way of the Kensei for you. While all Monks can use some weapons as so called 'Monk Weapons' with increased potency, you get even more weapons to use and with even more power, while you also do it with grace. Again, just like the real you."

"Stop it, Donnie, you're making me blush." Monalisa giggled.

"Soak up the praise, Mona. You deserve it." said Leonardo. "I guess it's my turn now, and I got… Raphael."

"Let me guess, you're gonna chew me out for things I've done while explaining this."

"Bingo, Raph. With how you've often gone of on your own, and ignore orders and plans, I found that the Rogue would fit you perfectly, for that's a lot of how they work."

"Ouch."

"Still, it's quite similar to our way of staying to the shadows, and I do think that you is the best of us to pick none-electronic locks, so it should come in handy. As for the specialisation, I think a Thief should fit you well as well."

"Leave it to Fearless to both scold and praise one with the same thing." Raphael scoffed.

"I'm next!" Michelangelo cheered. "And I got Sephie!"

"This should be interesting." she said. "So, Mikey, how do you see me in this game?"

"With you being our Archery Princess, I was thinking maybe a Ranger would be great, with them being all bow and arrow too. But I actually went for a Fighter instead. Fighters can use all weapons, but it was actually this specialisation that sold it for me, the Arcane Archer! They use some kind of magic to make all kinds of trick arrows, much like Sephie use trick arrows herself, so that's why I picked this."

"Sounds awesome! I was a bit puzzled at first, but I think this will be just perfect. Thanks, Mikey!"

"No problems!"

"Then I'm the last one, and it's not hard to figure out who I got." Sephie said, looking at her lover. "My very own knight in shining armour. And this was very hard, there were so many classes that could have fitted you. Paladin, Fighter, Sorcerer, Barbarian, even Monk, but in the end, I think that you are a Dragonslayer."

The group looked at Sephie with questioning eyes, while Tyroth gave her a stern look.

"Dragonslayer? I didn't see that in any of the books." said Monalisa.

"And you won't find it in the books either. That's a homebrew." said Tyroth.

"Homebrew? Are you talking about booze or something?" said Raphael.

"It's a term used for content to this game that is home-made, created by someone else than the game's creators. I might have used some minor homebrew things such as magical items and beasts eventually, but a whole class? I don't know, honey."

"I know, but I saw this on the web while searching for the character sheets, and it just seemed to be a perfect fit for you, especially since you actually slew a real dragon in Skyrim, so I printed it as well. They're not too different from a Monk, fighting primarily unarmed, but have skills that make them more efficient against dragons than others. They also each have an element, based on the kind of dragon they are trained to fight, and in your case I picked Fire."

"Very well then, I'll let it pass, but only this one time. So don't try and charm your way to more advantages, darling. I will be very strict on that."

"Charm you? Me? Why I would never." Sephie said, faking drama, but Tyroth only smiled and shook his head. "There is just one more thing, rather than Lizardfolk, I opted to go for one of the Draconic races instead, again, more you."

"That's okay, but because of the other thing I will increase the difficulty of the adventure for the lot of you. So if things go horribly bad, you all know who to blame."

"Sorry, guys." Sephie said with a sheepish smile.

"Meh, it might make it more interesting, or shorter. I'm okay with both." said Raphael.

"Then all we need now is our backgrounds, and if we work together, we should be able to figure out something interesting." said Tyroth. But before they could start working on that part, the voice of a small turtle lizard hybrid mutant caught their attention.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Pandora said, walking over to her parents. "I'm hungry."

"Are you hungry, little geisha?" Monalisa said, picking up her daughter and placing her in her lap. "We can't have that, now can we? We'll make sure that you get something in your tummy very soon."

"Thank you, Mommy." Then Pandora noticed what the grown ups were doing. "What are you doing? Is this a game?"

"Your uncle Tyroth and auntie Sephie brought it with them. We were going to try it."

"Can I try too?"

"Sorry, princess, but I think you're too little for this game, it's quite difficult."

"I'm always too little…" Pandora pouted.

"Don't worry, you'll be big enough soon enough." said Tyroth as he reached over and gently ruffled Pandora's hair, making her giggle. "But you said you were hungry, so why don't you go and get your cousins, get ready for dinner and I will cook up something tasty for you all. Okay?"

"Okay, uncle Tyroth." Pandora said happily, got down from her mother's lap and hurried away to get the others.

"Such a sweet girl. But I'd better get cooking then, I'm feeling a bit hungry myself, so I'll whip up some dinner for all of us."

"That's very kind of you, Tyroth." said Leonardo. "We'll continue this after dinner then. Though, maybe we should look after the kids a bit first, it's not far until their afternoon nap. We can play once they are asleep."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." said Sephie. "I'll set the table. Care to help, Raph?"

"Sure, I'll give a hand."

* * *

Shortly after the mutants had left the area, mist started to form next to the table, coalescing in to a humanoid figure. His white robe with long sleeves and blue embroidery, red scarf and hood fluttered slightly from forming, while his face, covered by his white laughing mask, turned to the stuff on the table.

"My my my. Are they truly so bored that they resort to adventuring in a game? Or are they merely so addicted to excitement?" he said to himself in an almost silent, but happy voice.

"Well, whatever the case, this gives me an idea that is certain to increase the value of their little game. The fact that they even have a quartz die, it makes this easier."

Reaching out with his satin gloved hand, one finger extended, he tapped the crystal and it hummed and glowed for a brief second.

"Ah, quartz, such a lovely mineral, it's crystals are so easy to enchant. This should spice up their game considerably."

Before leaving, he looked over to the kitchen where the inhabitants had gathered.

"Such a wonderful family, especially the children, they are growing up so fast. It was a shame what had to happen to Kemeko's mother though, she was such an interesting woman, so complex and torn, so much drama around her fate. But I guess we all have our roles to play." he chuckled the last part.

"I think I have overstayed my welcome here now, got other things that needs attention."

Dissolving into mist, the mystery figure soon vanished completely, mist and all, but not before uttering one final sentence.

"Now let the game begin, for the die is cast."

 **There you have it, the classes for the team's characters. Donatello: Wizard, School of Abjuration. Leonardo: Paladin, Oath of Devotion. Michelangelo: Sorcerer, Wild Magic. Raphael: Rogue, Thief. Monalisa: Monk, Way of the Kensei. Sephie: Fighter, Arcane Archer. Tyroth: Dragonslayer, Fire.**

 **The Dragonslayer class is very much a homebrew, one that I myself have made, based on Dragonslayers in Fairy Tail. There are others that have also made their versions of that, but this is mine. You can read more about it in my DND Fairy Tail crossover Dragonslayers, right here on Fanfiction.**

 **As some might have noticed, Raph's attitude towards the game is based on his 2012 counterpart from the episode Mazes and Mutants. Hadn't even heard of the episode when I got the idea for this fic, but I have taken some extra inspiration from it.**

 **Things are going to get far more interesting now that none other than Fumetsu Misuto has a finger in the game. Also, the event he mentions regarding Kemeko's mother is a reference to Bloodrayne666's story Karai's Legacy. Check it out, it's a great story.**

 **Next time, we'll be building up the world a bit, with some general lore as well as the backstories of the team's characters. See you then.  
Please review if you enjoy! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Prelude to Adventure**

Once they had finished dinner, the adults spent some time with the children, making sure that they were all having a good time and making plans for the next day, but eventually it was time for the little ones to go to bed. After all the playing they had done, they were very tired, and had to be carried to bed by their parents.

Having gently tucked in the already half asleep Kemeko, Leonardo gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Good night, my little Lotus blossom."

"Night… Dada…" she half yawned, making Leonardo smile.

Turning on the night light, he then carefully closed the door on his way out. On his way back to the TV area, he walked past the room that Tyroth and Sephie's kids were borrowing, and with the twins only being a little older than Kemeko, they were just as tired as she was. Looking into the room, he saw them getting tucked in by their parents.

"Good night, my darlings." Sephie said, kissing them both on their cheeks.

"Sweet dreams. We'll be just outside." said Tyroth.

"Night, Mommy." Loki said, snuggling up against his older sister.

"Night night, Daddy." said Freya.

With the couple on their way out of the room, Leonardo stepped back to give them some room.

"Everything okay?" he asked as they closed the room.

"Yeah." said Sephie looking back at the door. "They were rather tired from the trip here, despite sleeping most of the way."

"Just wait until tomorrow, they'll be full of energy by then." said Tyroth.

"Well, so will their cousins, so they will be in good company." said Sephie.

"True point." said Leonardo. "As soon as Raph and Mona have put Pandora to bed, we can get back to the game."

"We just have to keep the noise down, not just for the kids, but we have to remember that Splinter also retired for the evening." said Tyroth. "Should be able to get a few hours of gameplay before it's time for us to hit the hay as well."

* * *

A few minutes later, Monalisa and Raphael joined everyone around the table.

"Alright, let's get this over with." said Raphael.

"Give it a chance, Raph. Who knows, you might just like it." said Sephie.

"That might just be the worst part." the hot headed turtle mumbled under his breath.

"Okay, everyone got their character sheets, dice, pens and note-blocks ready?" Tyroth asked, his eyes sweeping across his friends. "Then let's start."

As soon as Tyroth said those words, the small quartz die began to glow, giving off a pulse of light that covered the table and the mutants around it before anyone had any time to react. As sudden as the pulse had come, it died down, but the effects would remain far longer than that short instant.

For a brief moment, all the dice, character sheets and books glowed with the same glow as the quartz die, so did the mutant's eyes before the light faded, becoming completely blank, just staring out into nothing as they sat unmoving.

* * *

The world of Gaia is a world of magic, of mysteries and unknowns. Countless civilisations have risen to power and grandness, only to fall into oblivion and vanish from the world as ages pass, leaving only ruins and legends for the future.

Of special interest is the small nation of Salvora, on the northern continent of Fargon. Salvora is a melting pot of different cultures, ranging from Humans, Elves and Dwarves to Dragonborns, Tieflings and Orcs, even rarer races such as Tritons and Aasimars are among the populace. For the most of the time, people are tolerant of different races, but prejudice and hostilities are still common among certain groups.

There are also two races that are of special note, the first being the Turtleoids, or more commonly known as simply Turtle people or Turtles. Crafted an aeon ago, from magically uplifting sea turtles, turning them humanoid, they were to serve as amphibious shock troops of the evil Merrows, as they were less than adequate for moving on land themselves. But the invasions were ultimately repelled by the land dwellers, and the Merrows retreated to deeper parts of the oceans, abandoning their creations to the mercy of their enemies.

With the whip of their masters no longer over their heads, the Turtles were free to seek their own place in the world, and while there were still the odd skirmish with their former foes, they eventually settled down along the coastlines to form small societies of their own, even forging peaceful relations with other races over time.

The Turtles, while initially created for war, are generally peaceful and patient by nature, and more agile than what would be expected by a race with large shells on their backs. Most of the time, they tend to keep to their own settlements, venturing to other cities and towns for simple trading, but as the last few generations, many Turtles have begun exploring the vast world they live in, going so far and wide that most people at the very least have heard of them, and many Turtles have even settled down in cities of other races as well.

The second race is the Northern Lizards, more commonly called just Lizards. Much like the Turtles, they were also forged for war, but by human hands rather than monster claws. A large and powerful cult of Yuan-Ti had subjugated many clans of Lizardfolk, turning them into an army with which they assaulted the northern parts of the continent, all to appease their dark gods. The human and elven armies was able to hold them at bay, but couldn't strike at the heart of the enemy, the deep swamps and marshes being too treacherous for none reptilian creatures, especially with the dark wards in place.

Rather than fighting a long war of attrition, they instead created their own army of reptiles to take the fight to the source. Drafting tens of thousands of humans, the injured and sick, criminals and slaves and any that could be spared or volunteer, they used forbidden rituals to cross them with scores of lizards of different species. It was a huge risk that could have created more enemies instead.

But the gamble paid off, and the new army was able to strike a decisive blow at the Yuan-Ti leaders, forcing them to withdraw to again bide their time. But with the threat gone, the Northern Lizards were reduced from specialised warriors to little more than slaves and servants, despite their vital role in ending the war.

With time however, that changed, for the civilisation that had created them, crumbled from internal struggles and corruption, giving the Lizards the chance they needed to escape their captivity. More time passed, and the now free Lizards began carving out their piece of the world, founding a few settlements of their own. However, these settlements are small, only the size of villages, and the majority of the Lizards remain nomadic, wandering the lands in small clans, occasionally meeting each other.

Due to their human heritage, they are far more human like than the Lizardfolks, being of a lighter build and having hair on their heads rather than horns or feathers, though it still occurs. The females also possess breasts and give birth to live young rather than laying eggs like most reptilian species and races. The mixed lizard heritage also shine through, more so with some individuals than others, giving various physical traits such as horns, heathers and number of fingers and toes, as well as special traits, like the ability to climb on any surface or being able to change the colour of their scales.

Now, turn your attention to the town of Cardena, a relatively small town of only a few thousand inhabitants located not far from the north-eastern coast. It is here that a grand adventure will begin.

* * *

Four Turtle brothers lived in the town of Cardena, trying their best to survive together after the passing of their only known relative, their elderly grandfather. Living in a simple shack in the slums, the young Turtles face further hardship when the gift of magic manifested in the youngest of them, Michelangelo. But the powers would often spiral out of control, causing various kinds of damage and effects.

Leonardo, the oldest of the brothers, believed that the only way to help Michelangelo was to send him away to a Magic Guild, where he could receive proper help and training. But, Raphael, the second oldest, objected strongly against the idea, believing that they would never see Michelangelo again, and he didn't want to loose any more family members. Due to Raphael's hot temper and stubbornness, as well as Leonardo's strong belief, the argument spiralled out of control, escalating into a fight.

The fight ended, however, when Leonardo actually wounded his brother, leaving a long scar across the left eye, but the deepest wounds were those in their hearts. Ashamed of his actions, Leonardo fled, abandoning his family in a panic. The young Turtle would stow away on a ship trying to escape the haunting experience, only to have his conscience and dreams remind him, weighing heavily on his mind.

He eventually found solace within a temple to the Ancient One, seeking shelter among the clergy, and after a time, joining as an acolyte. The teachings of the Ancient One spoke to Leonardo on a spiritual level, and after many years, he knew that he had to return to his brothers, to make amends. Yet his time had not been dedicated to only prayer, for he had shown great promise as a Paladin as well, and with his training completed, he took the first ship back to Cardena.

During Leonardo's absence, once his physical wound had healed, Raphael took it upon himself to take care of his remaining brothers. But desperate times forced him to desperate measures, and after days without food, he turned to what would become a life of crime, stealing anything that could help them survive.

But the life of a thief is a dangerous one, and there were many times when things went wrong, ending up with him getting hurt or even thrown in jail. As years passed, he became more and more skilled at stealing, as well as moving unseen in the shadows, he also gained several contacts in criminal networks, learning who to sell to, who to listen to and who to avoid.

Even though he spent less and less time in jail as he got better, for his remaining brothers he was gone almost as if he actually was in jail, rarely even seeing him for days or even weeks. But his ill gotten gains did help them survive, keeping them from starving and supplying them with a low level of comfort, if only barely.

Donatello, the third oldest Turtle, however did all he could to help Michelangelo in the others' absence, for the magical powers of Michelangelo kept increasing. But Donatello didn't know the first thing when it came to magic, he had always been the most rational of the four, listening more to logic than most. Deciding that he would approach the problem as any other, he started gathering what information and lore on magic he could, spending far too many coins buying what books and scrolls he could from wandering merchants, and also far too many hours studying them in great detail.

That dedication did allow him to give Michelangelo some rough training in how to use it, and while it still could go out of control, that was in the nature of his source of magic and not his skill. But Donatello's studies came with another boon, for his new understanding of magic allowed him to wield it as well, if in a different way. With that tool at his disposal, Donatello choose to focus on spells and incantations to neutralise the worst of Michelangelo's wild magic, or at the very least lessen or reverse their effects.

As the years passed, all four of the brothers, no matter how far apart, would continue to hone the skills they had acquired, and that would serve them well, once they reunite.

* * *

The Northern Lizards of Clan Freeheart were travelling through the eastern parts of Salvora, as was the way of the nomadic race. They were used to dealing with all kinds of trouble on their travels, be it wild animals, bad weather or bandit attacks, and were thus capable of defending themselves. But on one fateful day, they face a far greater opposition than ever before.

They were ambushed by a large group of bandits, and they were far more organised and better armed than normal bandits. While the Lizards fought bravely, they were outnumbered and outmatched, and thus on that horrible day, Clan Freeheart was all but wiped out. Only two were known to survive, two little girls, Sephie and Monalisa, sisters in both clan and blood, managed to escape the attack.

But neither of them were aware that the other had also escaped, as they had been separated and ran off in different directions, one into the deepest parts of the forest, and the other into the hills.

Sephie found herself lost in the woods, with nothing but the clothes on her back, torn from all the branches and thorns after running through the undergrowth for hours. Things almost took a turn for the worst as she found herself face to face with a large wolf.

She thought that she was going to die when the wolf picked her up by her clothes, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for the wolf was in fact an Elven Druid, patrolling her people's domains in her animal form. Taking Sephie to their hidden city, she and the other Elves agreed to help raise the little Lizard as one of their own.

Years passed for Sephie, and she was taught the Elven way of the forest, to live of nature, to track and hunt, and also to fight, but rather than pursuing the path of a Ranger or Druid, she wanted to follow the way of the Arcane Archer, a very well kept secret of the Elven people. She was however denied, but that didn't stop Sephie, she would observe the others in secret, trying to figure out their ways.

Eventually, after seeing how strong her will was, the Elves relented and began teaching her. She proved to be a natural with the bow and arrow, even by Elven standards, and quickly learned everything they threw at her. But as the years passed, Sephie felt that she didn't truly belong there, longing to reconnect with her own people, hoping that she wasn't the only one left of her clan. Feeling that she was ready to leave, she said good bye to her foster family and set out on a search for answers.

Hopefully, she would find other survivors of her clan, and if not, then at least she would search for those that attacked them and make them pay.

As for her sister, Monalisa ran for so long that she collapsed among the rocky hills, exhaustion taking its toll on her little body. She laid on the cold ground for hours before she was discovered by a wandering Dragonborn Monk. Taking pity on the small child, he carried her with him for days before reaching his order's temple.

Over the years, they saw to Monalisa's education and training according to their own teachings, and the Dragonborn that found her even taught her his own language at her request. Daily training and meditation allowed her to master the unarmed way of fighting that the Monks practised, before learning how to combine it with weapons, granting her a style of precision and grace.

The meditation also gave peace to her troubled mind, but despite that, she was still haunted by horrific nightmares of the day her clan was attacked, and she harbored dark thoughts of revenge against those responsible. She could clearly remember their coat of arms on both their armour and tattoos, that of a purple, serpentine creature shaped like an 'S', and one day she would hunt them all down, and slaughter them as they slaughtered her clan.

Coming of age, she decided to leave on a pilgrimage, to finally rid herself of the demons that haunted her. Either she would come to terms with her loss and finally move on, or she would find and kill the attackers. Her mentors knew this well, but allowed her to seek the enlightenment that she desired, wishing her the best of luck on her quest and prayed for her safety.

Neither of the two Lizards could ever have predicted that they would one day meet, and the adventures they would experience together.

* * *

A great tragedy struck the small village of Oakside, as it was ravaged by a mighty red dragon by the name of Pyrgore the Dark Flame. Sadistic beyond his kind, he took special pleasure in torturing random people before painfully ending their lives, and this was no exception. Taking the form of a human male, he viciously beat and raped a human woman for an hour before placing a powerful curse upon her, one that would cause her to slowly rot from within, dying ever so slowly with constant excruciating pain.

His work done, Pyrgore reverted to his true form and continued the destruction of the village before leaving, sending a message that mortals lived only because he allowed it. But had he remained a while longer, he would have noticed that the woman had survived the attacks, and while the curse place upon her would undoubtedly kill her, he had left her with more than just that.

She was saved by other survivors, who took care of her as they relocated to another village, trying to start their lives anew. But as weeks passed, her cursed condition became clear, and despite the local Cleric's best attempts, the curse could not be undone. However, there was something that was off with the curse, by all rights it should have claimed her life by then, but she was very much still alive. This was because she had gotten impregnated by Pyrgore in his human form, and was now carrying his child, and somehow that unborn child was absorbing part of the curse, prolonging its mother's life, but also her suffering.

Many months later, a healthy baby boy was born, named Tyroth by his loving mother, but his heritage from his father was clear as day for everyone to see. Red and yellow scales covered his body, blunt horns grew on his head, a short tail and tiny wings on his back and his eyes were unholy and red. Demon spawn, the people called him, an abomination of life.

Basically all of the villagers turned their backs on the small family, shouting names and insults whenever they saw them. The mother was a dark harbinger, they said, her son just one of many plagues to come. But the mother did not care, she tried her best to raise her baby with loving care, despite the hardships she had to endure.

But the villagers' patience wouldn't last forever, and after five years, they finally turned truly violent. A mob had gathered outside the family's little shack and set it ablaze, hoping to either force the inhabitants outside or burn them to death within their own home. With their home engulfed in flames and collapsing around them, Tyroth and his mother were trapped, the only exit was a small hatch that was only large enough for the young Half Dragon, but he refused to leave his mother behind.

Crying tears of happiness and sadness, his mother asked him to live on for her sake, just as much as for his own, and to find happiness. Then she took a knife, and slit her own throat in front of him, making sure that he had nothing that would prevent him from leaving the burning inferno around them.

Devastated and with tears in his eyes, Tyroth finally escaped the shack, fleeing into the night. Finally stopping after hours of running, he dropped on to all four, crying out loudly. He cursed his father for all he had done, including creating him, and he swore that he would hunt down and destroy every monster in the world, so that no one else would have to know the pain he had.

Days later, a storm forced the young Tyroth to seek shelter in a nearby cave. Cold, hungry and tired, he started hearing a voice from the deeper parts of the cave, a voice that sounded like a caring mother's voice, beckoning him to delve deeper into the depth. The deeper into the cave he walked, the warmer it got, and reaching the bottom of the system, he found a river of lava running through the large cavern of bedrock, and residing in that area, was a mighty Fire Dragon.

The scales were as if they were on fire, and she introduced herself as Embershard, offering him shelter. He was reluctant to trust her, but something about Embershard reminded him of his mother, so after some rest he answered her questions, and as she learned of his troubled existence, she took him in as her own.

Years passed, and Embershard went to great lengths caring for her adoptive son, teaching him everything she thought he would need to be able to survive in the world outside, including something that her ancestors had once taught to mortals of their time, the Fire Dragonslayer Arts, a unique form of martial arts that implements a certain element to better combat dragons. She hoped that it would blend well with the powers he had inherited from his father, turning his curse into a blessing, for those two would meet again, that much was certain.

Once he reached adulthood, he left the caves that had been the closest thing to a real home for many years. It was time for him to carry out his promise, and rid the world of monsters.

* * *

The fates of these seven individuals are intertwined, and will lead them all on a grand adventure that none of them could have dreamt of.

 **Now things are kicking off for real! Just what do you think happened with that quartz die?  
** **And how will things turn out for our heroes?**

 **The past of their characters have now been revealed, and next time you will see at the very least some of them in action.**

 **References to past fics and events include Leo's attack on Raph in Bloodrayne666's story A Warriors Journey, and possibly others that I haven't noticed myself. And more may come in the future.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Set On The Path**

Old Joe, a chubby human in his forties, was cleaning the bar-counter with a wet rag, it was a few hours before evening, and his tavern was almost empty. Not that it wasn't popular, on the contrary, Joe's was one of the most popular pubs and taverns in all of Cardena, it was just one of those times of the day when it was very calm. He didn't mind the breaks when he and his staff could get ready for the more busy times, but sometimes they just got so bored.

A lone male Turtle walked in, catching Joe's attention. The calmer times are the best times to get to know his customers better, or spot those that stood out for some reason, and Turtles were rather uncommon in the town. The Turtle wore a bright cloak with the hood down, underneath it one could see a chainmail in addition to his common clothes, a round metal shield was carried on his back, together with five javelins and a backpack, a short sword hung on his side and he had an old and worn blue scarf around his neck.

The Turtle walked up to the counter.

"A mug of mead, please. And some fruit too, if you got that. It's been a long journey." the Turtle said in a calm and polite tone.

"Don't see many Turtles around here, stranger." Joe said as he poured a mug and served a platter with some apples and pears. "What brings you to Cardena? If you don't mind me asking."

"Family, actually." the Turtle answered, taking a mouthful of the mead. "Grew up here in Cardena, but had to leave years ago. Now I'm trying to find my brothers. You wouldn't happen know them, the Hamato brothers?"

"Hamato? Hamato… Can't say that the name rings a bell, but I have seen a few other Turtles over the years. Some have just been passing through town, but a few of them have been fairly regular over years. Might be them."

"If so, then they are still in Cardena at least. Thank you."

After finishing his mead and most of the fruit, the Turtle fished up some coins from the pouch in his belt and placed them on the counter, bringing the last apple with him as he walked towards the door.

"Should I tell them anything if they show up?" Joe asked. The Turtle hesitated for a while.

"Tell them… tell them that Leonardo was looking for them."

* * *

Walking through town, Leonardo looked around, seeing that not much actually had changed over the years he had been gone. The wealthier parts of town were still the best maintained, while the slums had remained in the same sorry shape that he had left.

It was with trembling steps that he walked through the slum to where he had used to live. He wasn't afraid of being jumped by any thieves or thugs, he was more than capable to defend himself, but he was very nervous to how his brothers would react, he had abandoned them over fifteen years ago after all. But he wouldn't let that stop him, he had made a vow to reunite with them and help them to make up for his dishonourable actions.

Finally standing outside the old shack, he swallowed hard and clutched his silver talisman underneath his scarf, the holy symbol of the Ancient One, silently praying for courage and forgiveness before opening the door.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" he asked in a loud and clear voice as he walked in.

Looking around from the entrance, he was that the place was a mess, everything was damaged or broken, worn down over years and roughly repaired, but it was clearly inhabited, a single lit candle on the table spread a small amount of light. Suddenly, a dagger impaled the wooden wall right next to his head.

"This is private property." a grim voice said. Shortly after, a Turtle emerged from the shadows, wearing a black cloak with the hood up, obscuring most of his face, a red scarf over his mouth. Dark leather armour and clothes were barely visible in the few rays of light that the candle gave off. A second dagger was held in his right hand, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"I don't take kindly to anyone walking in unannounced, not even another Turtle. What are you doing here?" the dark clad Turtle asked. Leonardo looked at him, studying his face as best he could before answering.

"Looking for you, Raphael."

"How do you know my name?" Raphael asked, then he noticed the blue scarf. "Wait… Leonardo? Is that you?"

Leonardo nodded, and Raphael sheeted his dagger, walking over to his long lost brother, and punched him right across the face. Leonardo remained on his feet, but he staggered and rubbed his cheek where the fist had hit him.

"You got some nerve showing your face here after what you did!" Raphael snarled, staring down his brother, pulling back his hood and scarf, showing a long scar going down across his left eye. "What the shell do you want?!"

"I want to make amends, Raphael, for what I did all those years ago."

"Make amends?! Not only did you want to send Mikey away, but then you cut my face and ran away like a coward! And you think you can just come back after all this time and 'make amends' and all will be fine again?!"

"Listen, please," Leonardo said, still calm despite his brother's anger. "I wanted what I thought was best for Michelangelo, I will not apologise for wanting to help him. But I am deeply sorry for everything else, I never wanted to hurt you, or the others."

"Well you did a shell of good job doing just that!"

"Trust me, I know. I made many mistakes that day, but I hope that I might one day earn your forgiveness, and until that day, I will help you the way I should have done from in the first place."

"Get this, we don't need you! If you wanna help, hand over what coins you got and get lost! I've had more than enough of you!"

"Raph? Is that you in there?" another voice said from the outside. Stepping into view was a third Turtle, dressed in simple clothes that were a bit on the worn side, a purple scarf hung around his neck and he held a staff in his right hand, seemingly using it as a walking cane. "Well, as I live and breath. Leonardo. Haven't seen you in a very long time."

"Donnie." Raphael said in a low voice.

"Why didn't you tell me we would have a visitor today, Raph. I would have cleaned up a bit."

"Don't bother, he was just leaving. And so was I." Raphael said, walking up to the wall and pulling out his other dagger from it before walking out and past the others, pulling up his hood again. "I'm heading out, and when I get back, he'd better be gone."

"Raphael, please. I just want to help." Leonardo tried, but Raphael cut him off.

"The Abyss will be clean before I accept any help from you."

"As charming as always." Donatello sighed as Raphael stormed off. Then he turned to Leonardo. "Anyway, welcome home, Leonardo! We've missed you greatly."

"It didn't seem like it."

"Don't let Raph get to you, he's always been a grumpy Turtle, and I'm sure he has missed you just as much as me and Mikey. But we can discuss that inside instead of out here, have a seat if you find one you trust, I'll get you something to drink, I'm sure I got a clean mug somewhere."

After finding a reasonable sturdy chair, Leonardo sat down by the rickety table, being served a mug of water.

"I see you've managed well without me." said Leonardo.

"We've managed, yes, but, I wouldn't call it 'well'. It's been some rough years, but we've survived much thanks to Raph."

"That's something I suppose. But where is Michelangelo? Is he also out and about?"

"I don't think so, he was still sleeping when I left a few hours ago. Should still be here."

Donatello walked over to a big wooden chest that stood against a wall and opened it, revealing its contents. Cuddled up inside was the Turtle Michelangelo, sleeping soundly and snoring softly, partially wrapped up in a fur blanket and resting his head on a pillow. His clothing could be seen, which were only a brighter variant of what Donatello wore, with the exception of the orange scarf around his neck. The chest was actually almost too small for the Turtle, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Seriously? He's still sleeping in there after all these years?" Leonardo said with a smile.

"He say that it's cosy in there, and if he's happy with it, who are we to say otherwise." said Donatello. He then turned his attention to Michelangelo, gently shaking him by the shoulder. "Hey, Mikey! Wake up! We got a guest!"

"Huh, wazzat…?" he mumbled as he sat up in the chest, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, yawning loudly. "What… what's happening, Donnie?"

"We got a guest, sleepy head. Look who it is."

Once he finished rubbing his eyes, Michelangelo looked over to Leonardo with a half blank stare, just looking at his older brother for a few moments before registering what he actually was seeing, then his eyes went wide.

"B-big bro?" he stammered. "Big bro!"

Practically leaping out of the chest, Michelangelo ran over to Leonardo and threw his arms around him, while also tackling him to the floor.

"Big bro! You're back! I've missed you! I've missed you! I've missed you! I've missed you! I've missed you! I've missed you! I've missed you! I've missed you! I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Michelangelo." Leonardo said, with only slight difficulties.

"Let him breathe, Mikey." Donatello said as he gently pried the brothers apart.

"Why did you go, Leo?" Michelangelo asked after they had seated themselves again.

"I… I was ashamed of what I did, to Raphael, and to you two. And that look you all gave me… it hurt so much in my heart, and knowing that I was the cause of it… it just made it worse. I was so afraid and confused. After I had collected my thoughts a bit, I felt that I wasn't the brother that you all needed, that you deserved, but now I hope that I can be that brother, and I'm sorry that it took so long."

"As long as you're back, I'm okay." said Michelangelo with a wide smile. "Now things can get back to normal again."

"Not sure if I would use the word 'normal', Mikey." said Donatello. "Some things have changed."

"I've noticed." said Leonardo. "I don't recall you needing a walking staff, for one."

"It's actually an experiment, I'm trying to turn it into an arcane focus, so I won't have to have all the material components for my spells." Donatello explained.

"You can cast spells? Since when can you use magic as well?" Leonardo asked.

"Just sit back and relax, and I'll recount what has happened over the years."

* * *

Raphael stalked through the back allies and dark pathways in the slums, until he reached his destination, the Abyss, a seedy bar in the basement of an old warehouse in the dock area. All manner of lowlifes, cut-throats, criminals and other outcasts would frequent the Abyss for its cheep watered down booze, but also to gather information and contacts for various purposes. The place was filthy and dark, years of dirt covering many places, and the few wall torches did little to illuminate the place.

Getting a few bottles of some cheap swill, Raphael sat down by an unoccupied table, taking a mouthful of the contents of one of the bottles. Then he listened, tuning out all the worthless chatter and noise around him and focusing on finding information that could be of use, occasionally drinking some more.

He would often do so, sifting through all conversations until he could find something of worth, names, places, passwords, anything that could lead him to something worth stealing. It was calmer, and cheaper, than seeking out various information brokers or snitches, but he had to keep a low profile. Cutting in on someone else's deals was a quick way to get enemies if they find out who you are.

After over an hour, and one and a half bottle of booze, Raphael finally caught on to something at the table behind him. They were talking in low voices, whispering to avoid being overheard, but Raphael was used to that, and effectively blocked out everything else going on in the bar around him.

He hadn't looked at the people, but he was still able to figure out certain traits by listening, both to their voices and their movements. One had very light footsteps, almost child-like but with an adult's restraint, most likely a Halfling or Gnome, possible even a very lithe Dwarf, but unlikely, the voice was also clearly female and had a certain authority to it, probably that of the leader.

The second walked with heavy and armoured feet, must be wearing some form of heavier armour, Raphael could hear the rattling of ringmail as he sat down. The gruff and burly voice, even when whispering, was clearly male, and it wasn't very far-fetched to assume that he might be a Half-Orc, or possibly even a fullblood Orc. He didn't seem particularly bright either.

And finally, there was the third member, also a male judging by the voice, and this one had clawed hands, or poorly tended fingernails, that occasionally scratched against the wooden table. It was highly likely that he was a Dragonborn or Lizardman, or possibly a Tiefling with slightly more demonic heritage.

"This is it, boys." the female said, her fingers touching some form of parchment. "This shows the way to the largest haul we've ever seen. We pull this off, and we can retire from this life in the grime."

"Good, I'm tired of grime." said the gruff male. "Want gold instead."

"Just keep your voice down." said the last member. "Is it far away?"

"Only a week's travel to the north east of here, as you can see on the map." the female explained.

"Then we will need supplies for the trip, both there and back again, and probably for the stay as well. I'd say at least three weeks of supplies, and that will cost us."

"Don't worry, I got that covered."

"How? We can barely afford a decent place to stay. Where did you get the funds from?"

"I took-"

That was all that Raphael was able to hear, for while he was completely focused on the conversation, he didn't even notice how an individual in grey hooded robes quickly walked up behind him. The figure picked up the empty bottle and tossed it at the large gruff male, interrupting the conversation, and then just walked off to the side, seemingly disappearing into nothing.

The large male, quickly turned around, but never saw the real culprit, only Raphael sitting at the table behind them with another bottle. He snarled loudly as he got up from his stool and walked over to Raphael, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him to his feat.

"What the shell?!"

"You think you funny?! I don't!" the now clearly Half-Orc yelled in Raphael's face.

Then he threw Raphael at the table where the other members of the group were still trying to calm him down. Raphael crashed into the table, luckily hitting it with his shell first so he only got the wind knocked out him, but it was enough to cause a chain reaction in the bar. The bottle that Raphael had been holding in his hand, as well as the drinks on the table, were launched from the impact, hitting other guests of the bar, and a fight was inevitable.

In the time it took for Raphael to get back on his feet, the entire bar had turned into one big brawl with everyone fighting each other, including the staff. Even the Half-Orc and his party had been deeply involved in the fighting, completely forgetting about Raphael.

'Ugh… the shell was that about?' Raphael thought, having no idea of why the Half-Orc attacked him. As he got back on his feet, he noticed that the map was on the floor next to him. 'Not how I would have planned it, but I won't waste the opportunity.'

Quickly folding up the map, he tucked it inside his clothes and decided to get out of the fight club before it got even worse. Making his way towards a hidden exit he had discovered years earlier, he still had to fight a few people that attacked him on the way, but they were easily dealt with with a few quick strikes.

Reaching the hidden trapdoor, he looked around to make sure that no one saw him, but he spotted something that caught his attention. A female Lizard was among the brawlers, but she didn't seem to fit in, she was far too… clean to be hanging out at the Abyss. She was most likely a newcomer to Cardena, and had probably just found the bar by accident or by asking the wrong people, but looking at her fight, it was clear that she could take care of herself.

And how she fought. She almost flowed around her opponents, effortlessly dodging their lackluster attacks as a willow bends in the wind, then striking them with well placed hits from her palms, feet and tail. She moved with such elegance and grace, her hair flowing around her with her movements, that Raphael was captivated by her.

But he was snapped out of it when a giant of a woman burst in through the front door, followed closely by twenty guardsmen. She was Orgna Troll-bane, a Goliath and second in command of the guard, and people knew to stay clear of her. She was strong, violent and loyal to the city and the law, and while she, or the mayor of the city for that matter, didn't have anything against the Abyss as an establishment, fights in the bar wasn't something she tolerated, and anyone that objected would get their fight, with her, and a month in jail.

" **That's enough!** " her powerful voice boomed, causing everyone to go silent and stop whatever they were doing. " **There will be no fighting here! Not on my watch! So unless all of you want to pay our jail a visit, you will all clean this place up right now!** **I want it spotless!** "

It was with great courage that a male Dwarf with a long, fuzzy black beard walked up to Orgna.

"Um… this place hasn't been cleaned for years. The layer of dirt is almost an inch thick in some places. It will take a very long time-"

Before the Dwarf could continue, Orgna grabbed him by the collar and brought him up to eye level.

" **Then start cleaning!** " she roared in his face, making his beard blow up in his face and cover it.

'No way in the Nine Hells that I'm staying for this.' Raphael thought, once again looking so that no one saw him. But then he saw the Lizard again and he stopped himself. A part of him just couldn't leave her to have to clean the place, and he sighed.

'It's just like with that Half-Elf two years ago…'

Stealthily he hurried over to her and grabbed her wrist. She would have thrown him over her head if she hadn't been vary of Orgna, and with Raphael hushing her she didn't do anything more quiet either.

"Just follow me." he whispered, leading her to the trapdoor.

* * *

After walking a few minutes through a dark tunnel, the two reptiles emerged in a dark alleyway. After checking that no one was around, Raphael helped her up. It was first then, in the moon light, that he had time to take a good look at her. Her eyes were blue and the scales were green and she had long wavy, dark brown hair, tied back with a pink headband. She wore a sleeveless yellow top with a matching loincloth and knee long pants, as well as a pair of thin hide armlets and boots. Some form of bladed weapon hung from her feathered belt and she had a smaller backpack in one hand.

"I don't know who you are, but thank you." she said.

"Don't mention it, really, I got a reputation to think about."

"Then why did you help me?"

"You're new to town, right? You shouldn't hang out at a place like the Abyss, and you really shouldn't have to get punished for what some other fool started."

"Well then I thank you again. In fact, I consider myself indebted to you, so if there is anything I can do to help you, don't hesitate to ask."

Raphael wasn't exactly sure what kind of favour he could gain from her, and she didn't seem like the type of girl that would spend a night with someone just to repay a debt, so that was not an option, and the brothel was not that expensive. But as he heard the faint rustle of the map he had 'acquired', an idea formed.

"You know, I think I know a way for you to repay me, if you're up for looking for a treasure."

"Treasure hunting? That sounds rather interesting actually."

"If you help me with this, then your debt will be repaid."

"Fair enough, but I would like to know more, and discuss it in deeper detail."

"Of course. What's your name?"

"Monalisa, but you can call me Mona. And you?"

"Raphael, but just call me Raph. Meet me by the southern gate tomorrow morning and we'll talk then."

As the two parted for the night, Raphael smirked, knowing that he would have some extra help with this job, and hoped that she would be satisfied with a smaller cut of the treasure because of her debt to him. But he still needed more help, so he would have to talk to his brothers about it, they're cheaper and more reliable than hired help.

Looking back at the Abyss as he walked home, hearing how Orgna still bellowed at the others, he chuckled with how he had avoided the punishment.

'It's gonna take them all night to clean that place.'

Thinking about it, Raphael paled as he remembered what he had said to Leonardo.

" _The Abyss will be clean before I accept any help from you."_

'I should have used another metaphor, or gone to another bar. Though, he did want to help, and maybe he will be of use on this.'

As he continued to walk home, he went over how he could ask for Leonardo's help with his pride still intact. But as he did, the grey robed figure watched him from the shadows, a white mask faintly visible under the hood.

 **How the blazes did this chapter turn out this long? I thought it would only be half as long.**

 **Anyway, the brothers have been reunited, somewhat at least, and Raphael got a lead on potential riches. And he also met Monalisa.**

 **But things are just getting started, and we're still two characters short of a full party.**

 **Bonus points for those that recognize the robed figure.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Gathering A Party**

Back in the shack that the Hamato brothers called home, the three Turtles had just finished exchanging stories when Raphael returned.

"You're still here?" he said as he entered, looking at Leonardo.

"I said that I would stay and help, and I intend to hold that promise." Leonardo clarified. "With or without your approval."

"Please just accept this, Raph." said Donatello. "If the four of us work together, I'm sure that we can turn things around."

"Funny that you should say that, because I got just the thing to do that." Raphael said, pulling out the map and unfolding it on the table for the others to see.

"A map?" Michelangelo asked.

"Yes, a map." Raphael replies dryly. "But not just any map. A treasure map. At the end of it waits riches for us."

"How did you get this?" Leonardo asked, studying the map.

"I… acquired it from an associate. This opportunity hit me like a table over the back. But that's not important, what is is the riches that we can get from this."

"Are you sure about this, Raph?" asked Donatello.

"Look, I'm tired of having to steal for us to have enough to eat, this map can help us with getting a better life, a life where we have proper roof over our heads, decent food on the table, real beds."

"But I like sleeping in the trunk!" Michelangelo objected.

"…real beds for the rest of us." Raphael continued, then he looked at Leonardo. "And… there's one more thing… I… want your help on this, Leonardo."

"While I would have helped you either way, I'm a bit surprised that you ask for it already." said Leonardo. "I remember you saying something about the Abyss having to be cleaned before you would ask for my help."

"It's getting cleaned as we speak."

"How far away is this treasure hidden?" Donatello asked.

"About a week, to the north east." Raphael explained, placing his finger on the small cross the others had placed on the map.

"Hmm… well, judging by the other landmarks on the map, and comparing it to the other maps I've read before, I'd say that it is the old outpost of Wolswan."

"What do you know about it?" Leonardo asked.

"Not much I'm afraid. It's an old military outpost with a small village surrounding it, and was abandoned sometime four hundred years ago, so it's little more than a set of ruins. But it's well out of the way from travelled roads, so whatever the map might show could still be there. I'd say that we would need at least four weeks worth of supplies for both the travel and the time there, but it will cost us to get that much supplies for four people."

"… Five people…" said Raphael.

"Five? Something you want to mention, Raphael?" asked Leonardo.

"I… helped out a girl earlier tonight, and she wants to repay me, so I offered her to help me with this."

"A girl you say?" said Donatello, giving Raphael a knowing look. "What's her hair colour?"

"Like I thought of that."

"Her hair colour, Raph."

"Dark brown..."

"Just like that Elven girl!" Michelangelo exclaimed cheerful.

"Half Elf."

"Oh right, Half Elf. What was her name again? Gemmy?"

"Gemma."

"An associate of yours?" Leonardo asked.

"Ex."

"Ex-girlfriend he means." said Michelangelo.

"Stuff it, Mikey!"

"As long as it's not going to be a problem, I don't mind, so let's leave that subject." said Leonardo. "This other girl though, I'm curious about her."

"She's a Lizard, about our age I guess, and a damn good fighter from what I saw, can clearly hold her own, so if we do run into something, she can help us. And should she try to double-cross us, I'm certain that we can deal with her."

"Better keep a close eye on her until we're certain then, just to be on the safe side."

"I told her that I'd meet up with her tomorrow morning, talk more with her then."

"Well, if you take care of her, I suppose I could do my part and procure the supplies we need."

"I'll make a list for you." said Donatello. "The merchants start their days decently early, so you shouldn't have any problems. But this will cost us, I hope it's a worthwhile investment."

"Then it's settled, once we have everything, we'll head out the next day." said Leonardo, and the others agreed.

* * *

Early the next morning, Raphael headed to the southern gate to meet up with Monalisa, if she would show up at all. He kept to the shadows, out of sight, just in case, waiting for almost an hour before he saw her. She did seem to be alone, and he hadn't seen anyone else other than the gate guards sticking around for as long as he had been there, so an ambush of any kind seemed unlikely.

Still, he kept on hand on the handle of one of his daggers underneath his cloak, ready to strike out at the blink of an eye should anything happen.

"There you are." he said, stepping out of the shadows. "I was almost worried that you wouldn't show up."

"I didn't see you there." she said, seemingly only slightly surprised. "Have you been waiting long? I didn't mean to make you wait."

"I tend to be early, just in case. So, are you ready?"

"You need not worry, I intend to keep my promise to help you, depending on what this includes."

"Yeah, this is how it is. Me and my brothers will head out searching for this treasure I got a lead on. Might take a month to get there, find it and get back here."

"I see. And what do you want me to do?"

"I saw how you fought last night, so at the very least you'd come along as muscle, helping us fend us anything that we might run into. But if you got any other skills that would be of use, we won't say no to that."

"Not sure what I can contribute with, but I will do my best."

"Great. And look, I don't know why but I'll be honest with you, we actually don't know how much treasure might be there, if any, so whatever cut you'd get is dependant on that, as sad as it is."

"Then why go on this treasure hunt? Is it worth spending the money on it?"

"I hope so. We could really use the money. But it is a risk, and we have to take it."

"So why were you reluctant to share that we me, and still did share?"

"Last night, I could just have left you to clean up the Abyss with the others, but I didn't. Had it been anyone else, I wouldn't have hesitated to leave, the thought wouldn't even have crossed my mind. But for whatever reason, I chose to help you, and I guess I would prefer another friend rather than an enemy."

"Well, you haven't given me any reason to consider you anything but a friend so far. And I hope that it stays that way. When will we be leaving, by the way?"

"We're planning on tomorrow morning, so we can either meet up near the western gate then, or you could keep hanging out with me until then. I'm very curious about your fighting style."

"Well, I am new to town," she said, cocking her head slightly. "so I suppose you could show me around, teaching me what places that are actually good ones to hang out."

"Sure thing." Raphael said with a faint smile. "Well, first off, and I'm sure you know this now, avoid the Abyss, they're cheap but you saw how it was. Joe's is a far better place, being a tavern, but it costs more."

* * *

While Raphael was guiding his new friend around town, Leonardo was busy scouring the market and shops for the supplies on Donatello's list. It would have been a fairly easy task, if it hadn't been for the brothers' lack of coin, of which nearly all were in Leonardo money pouch. Their lack of money meant that Leonardo had to pick carefully what he bought, having to balance low prices with good quality. If the expedition turned out to be nothing but a wild goose-chase, they would be left in a very bad situation.

As he was perusing the different market stalls, he felt something brush against his side, the same side where the money pouch hung, and he instantly lashed out with his hand, finding grip around the wrist of someone else. A young boy, barely a teenager, was caught in Leonardo's grip, and had his own hand around Leonardo's money pouch, but before Leonardo could do anything else, the boy grabbed the pouch with his other hand and tossed it to another boy of the same age some twenty feet down the street.

A green scaly hand deftly caught the pouch right in front of the second boy, belonging to a female Lizard. Holding the pouch close to her, she gave the second boy a stern glare, causing him to run off. Seeing that his money was safe, Leonardo released his grip on the first boy, who quickly ran after his friend.

"Little thieves." the Lizard muttered as she walked up to Leonardo. "I think this is yours."

"Thank you." the Turtle said, tucking the pouch back in his belt and securing it better this time.

"If you want to thank me, how about buying a gal a drink?" she said with a wink and a smile.

* * *

A few minutes later, the duo sat at a table at Joe's, sharing a pair of mugs of mead.

"You know, when I said 'buying a gal a drink', I didn't really think that you actually would."

"It's the least I can do." Leonardo responded. "And I don't see you turning it down."

"True enough." the Lizard said, taking a quick mouthful of mead.

"I don't think I caught your name, miss."

"Never told you. It's Sephie. Sephie of Clan Freeheart."

"I'm Leonardo Hamato." Leonardo said, offering his hand, which Sephie took.

"Leonardo huh? Mind if I call you Leo for short?"

"Not at all, my brothers used to call me that when we were kids."

Taking a small mouth of mead himself, Leonardo took the opportunity to study his drinking companion. Her scales were an intense green and her eyes were also green, and she had her reddish-brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She wore a long and dark green, sleeveless leather tunic, reaching down to her thighs, and high brown leather boots, complementing with matching bracers. A bow and quiver hung on her back, as did a pair of daggers on her belt, and after a closer look at her equipment, Leonardo noticed a theme to their design.

"I can't help but notice, but your armour and weapons, they're of Elven design aren't they?"

"Good eye. They were given to me by my foster family."

"Foster family?" Leonardo let slip. "Sorry, I shouldn't pry."

"It's okay." Sephie said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I was… separated from my clan when I was a child, only to be found and raised by Elves. It's not been that long since I left, hoping to find my kinsmen again, and here I am."

"A rough upbringing, huh? I can relate, the childhood of me and my brothers wasn't the best either, looking to make up for it now."

Taking another mouth of the mead, Leonardo hoped to change the subject, as it was clear that it was a sore one for the both of them. Then a thought crossed his mind.

"Excuse me for asking this, but you said you were raised by Elves. Did they by any chance teach you how to survive out in the wilderness?"

"Of course they did, any forest living Elf worth their salt knows that, and they made sure that I did too. Why do you ask?"

"My brothers and I are going on an expedition. The trek there and back will take two weeks at least, and we'll probably stay on place for another week too. I'm thinking that maybe you could help us, guide our path and expand our supply of food with what nature has to offer, since you're more experienced in surviving in the wild than any of us."

"I suppose, the lands around here are bountiful enough if one knows how to find it's riches, but what do I get from it? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to help, but this isn't really a small favour, and I need to make some coin as well."

"Trust me, I understand. But I can't promise you anything, we don't really know what we will get from the expedition, and I will have to talk to my brothers about you helping us. If they agree on it, you should get a cut from whatever we make from this."

"Hmm, well if they agree on hiring my services, I won't let any of you down. So until then, it's a deal."

"Good to hear. Then I just hope that the others think the same."

* * *

A couple of hours later, just past high noon, Leonardo had finished buying all the supplies that was on Donatello's list, and his money pouch was almost completely empty, holding only a few remaining coins. The merchants had allowed him to leave his purchased items with them until he and his brothers could pick them up later in the day.

He was on his way back to their shack of a home, accompanied by the Lizard Sephie, both to fetch his brothers and to explain his idea for Sephie joining them. As luck would have it, all the Turtles were there waiting for him, including Raphael, who had returned shortly before, together with Monalisa.

"This is where you live?" Sephie asked as she saw the shack.

"It's not much, but it's home." Leonardo said with mixed emotions, walking up to the door. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my brothers."

"About time you showed up." Raphael said the very second Leonardo opened the door. "Was beginning to think that you just took our money and scrammed."

"Would never dream about it." Leonardo responded, stepping inside with Sephie close behind him.

"I'd like you all to meet my new friend, Sephie." Leonardo then turned to Sephie and introduced his brothers pointing at them one by one. "Sephie, these are my brothers, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo and…"

Noticing that there was another individual gathered around the table, Leonardo was thrown off a bit before he connected the dots.

"…and this must be the ally that Raphael talked about. I don't believe we have been introduced, miss…?"

"Call me Monalisa, or just Mona if you prefer." she said with a smile, then her eyes turned to Sephie. "I wasn't aware that there was another Lizard in this party."

"Neither was I." said Raphael with a frown. "What gives, Leonardo? You were meant to buy supplies, not some pleasure girl!"

Sephie's face darkened, and quick as a flash, she pulled her bow and an arrow off her back, and shot the arrow at the table hitting right between Raphael's fingers with very little margin. Looking up, they saw that she had already readied another arrow and aimed it in Raphael's direction.

"Show me the pleasure girl that can do that." she said.

"She's feisty, and stands up to Raph. I like her." said Michelangelo with a wide smile.

"As I was about to explain, I have already bought all on the list, we just have to fetch it. As for my guest here, she is familiar with surviving away from civilisation, so I thought that she might be useful for this expedition, for a part of it. That is, if you are okay with that."

"Is she, like, some ranger?" Michelangelo asked.

"Not quite, but I've been taught a lot from them, so I'm almost as good." Sephie said, lowering her bow.

"Well, I got no complaints." said Donatello. "As long as our supplies can still last."

"I'm okay with her too." said Michelangelo.

"I don't really have a say in this, it's your decision, but her skill with the bow is real, so I would advise you to accept." said Monalisa.

Raphael looked at the arrow embedded in the table, pulled it out and handed it to Sephie.

"You're in. I'd rather be on the safe side of your arrows. And… I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

"Glad to hear it." she said, taking her arrow and putting it back in her quiver.

"Then, unless there are any other things that comes up, I'd say we're almost ready." said Donatello, going over everything in his head. "Now we just have to pick up the supplies, pack for tomorrow, and then we can be off at dawn. If anyone has any unfinished business, you'd better take care of that now, and then get an early night."

"If you girls don't have a place to stay for the night, I'm sure we can squeeze us all in here, though it will get a bit cramped." Leonardo offered.

"The trunk is mine!" Michelangelo quickly added.

"Thank you for the offer, but I've already paid for a room in one of the taverns, so I'll be alright." said Monalisa.

"Same thing for me." said Sephie. "But thanks all the same."

"Then I suggest that we meet up here tomorrow morning and head out from here, through the west gate." said Raphael.

 **Another team member has been acquired, and those who have been keeping count know that there is only one left, but where might he be?**

 **They're off to a bit of a rocky start, not quite getting along yet, but it's not as bad as it could have been. And the Lizards do not yet know who they are to each other, but they will discover that soon enough.**

 **Next chapter, they set of for the ruins of Wolswan, what treasures await them there? And what dangers? Take a guess in the reviews if your are so inclined. See you then! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Adventurers Assembled**

Early the next morning, the Turtles and Lizards met up outside the Turtle's shack and headed out. It would be a long journey to reach their destination, but luckily the weather was on their side, giving them warm and clear days and cool nights. The days were all in all clam and uneventful.

Sephie's survival skills came in handy very quickly, as she could easily find things to add to their rations, everything from herbs, roots and berries to various birds, fish and smaller animals, effectively expanding their supplies.

On the third day of travelling through the meadows and forests, they made camp in a forest clearing, next to a river, as the sun was setting and darkness falling. As the others prepared the firepit and sleeping spots, Sephie took her bow and walked over to the edge of the river. With a strong piece of string tied to one of her arrows, she expertly shot fishes in the river, pulling them up with help of the string. Once she had one for each of them, she prepared them for roasting over the fire, heading back once she was ready.

"Hope you guys are hungry." she said. "I took some herbs I found here and rubbed the fish with them, so I hope they are to your liking."

"Well they smell good, but I might just be really hungry." said Michelangelo, his mouth watering as he smelled the fish roasting.

"I for one don't regret letting you tag along." said Raphael. "Gods know that me and Mikey can't cook properly."

"I'm no chef by any means, but I have learned how to make the most of what I find, and to add some flavour." said Sephie.

"That has certainly made this trip more enjoyable." said Monalisa. "And now we're almost halfway to our goal, unless I am mistaken. Could anyone possibly tell me more about it, I'm not from around here, after all."

"Don't see any harm in it." said Donatello. "But there really ain't that much to tell, at least to my knowledge. It's an old outpost, a keep with a small village that had develop around it, and it was abandoned almost four hundred years ago."

"But why was it abandoned? Were they attacked or was there a plague of some sort?" Sephie asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I tried looking in the library, but all I found was a footnote about Wolswan. So either it's nothing special enough to record in the history books, or no one really knows anything about it."

"What about this map then? How accurate is it?"

"Enough for others to want it, I'd bet." said Raphael, remembering how certain its previous owners were. "But it doesn't show exactly where the treasure is, or tell what it is, but it has to be something."

"If Wolswan has been undisturbed all this time, then it could very well still contain whatever its inhabitants left behind." said Leonardo. "But honestly, I find it difficult to believe that it hasn't been visited by someone all this time, even if it is far from the main roads."

"I guess we just have to hope that-" Sephie began, but she tensed and quickly rose to her feet. "Quiet!" she hushed, looking out into the woods. It was at times like these that she wished that she was an Elf, being very envious of their night vision.

"What is it?" Leonardo asked.

"I heard something."

"I heard it too. Something stepping through the undergrowth." said Raphael.

"A wolf?" Michelangelo asked. "Or a bear?"

"No… this sounded… larger." Sephie said, drawing her bow, which caused the others to rise to their feet and draw their own weapons.

"Larger than a bear? Like an owlbear?" said Donatello.

"No… even larger…"

The reptiles waited with baited breath, and after a short while, they all heard the heavy footsteps, followed by the heavy breathing, snarling and grunting. Finally walking into view, they saw that it was a troll.

Standing over nine feet tall, despite its hunched posture, it had moss green skin covering it's naked wiry body, its grey coarse hair reaching its shoulders. Long arms dangled by its sides, the hands dragging against the ground as it lumbered towards the camp, its claws sharp enough to rend flesh with ease.

Sniffing the air, it focused its attention on the camp ahead of it and growled loudly, speaking in some guttural language that none of the group understood, but they still had a good idea of what it wanted.

"I bet it smelled the fish. It must be hungry." said Monalisa.

"And I bet it won't be satisfied with only the fish." said Sephie.

Snarling loudly again, the troll roared something at the group, and then charged at them, snapping several thick branches on the trees it ran past.

The group scattered as the troll struck the ground with its powerful arms, each moving in a different direction, trying to keep their distance. Sephie quickly shot a pair of arrows at their foe, hitting it square in the chest, but that did little more than annoy the troll, which kept swiping at the others. Leonardo placed himself between the troll and his brothers, shield raised to block any attacks that might come his way.

"I got this!" Michelangelo shouted to the others, as he started weaving the magic of one of his spells.

"Careful, Mikey!" Donatello cautioned, not that it would ever help, even if Michelangelo was careful.

Three bolts of magical energy shot out from Michelangelo's hands, the Magic Missiles striking the troll's chest like arrows, forcing it back half a step. But no sooner had the magic attack left his hands, than Michelangelo's body shifted and shrunk, turning into a sheep.

"Baah…" he said, lowering his head and brining up his front hoof to his forehead, trying his best to facepalm.

The others, save for Raphael and Donatello, just stared at the sheep in shock and confusion. Even the troll stared with wide eyes, but the surprise quickly turned into hunger, as sheep was its favourite food. This look in its eyes wasn't missed by the former turtle, who gulped and quickly hid behind Donatello.

"I'll fix that soon, Mikey. But first we need to deal with our unwanted guest." His hand dived into a large pouch in his belt, searching for something inside of it. Pulling out a smaller pouch, containing a little sand and a few rose petals, he focused his arcane powers through it.

Unleashing the spell upon the troll, Donatello prayed that it would work. For a brief moment, the troll stumbled and yawned loudly, but it shook its head and continued its attacks.

"Well, that didn't work."

"Baah bahaah!"

Despite the Sleep spell not taking hold of their foe, it still gave Leonardo an opening that he didn't waste, lashing out with his sword, severing one arm by the elbow. The troll roared in pain and turned its attention on Leonardo, but the Paladin had more problems, for the severed arm grabbed him by his ankle, the hand squeezing it hard and causing him pain.

"What the shell?! Unhand me!"

The troll lashed out against the occupied Leonardo, trying to sink its teeth into the Turtle, but it only struck metal as Leonardo managed to raise his shield to protect himself. But the troll didn't relent, even if it chipped some of its teeth, it kept trying to chew through the metal.

Monalisa dashed towards the troll, striking it on the temple with the pommel of her sword, stunning it enough to let go of the shield. She then followed up with a kick to its chest to push it away, if only just a foot and a half, and once she had a little room, she stabbed her sword through the severed arm that grappled with Leonardo, pinning it to the ground and causing it to loose its grip, though it still squirmed and tried to claw at anyone close enough.

Despite being unarmed, she stood by Leonardo's side, fists half clenched held in front of her as she was ready for any attack that might come her way. But before the troll could attack either of them, Raphael dashed up behind it and stabbed both daggers into the ribcage.

Another roar of pain escaped the troll's mouth, as it quickly turned around and struck the Turtle across his face, the claws leaving nasty cuts as they caught his flesh and he was thrown backwards.

"Raphael!"

Cradling his bleeding face, Raphael saw the troll quickly approaching him, and most of the wounds had stopped bleeding and were closing before his eyes, even those that Raphael had just dealt. He was at the mercy of the troll, and they others didn't have the time to stop it, and even if they did, they didn't really have any way to permanently kill the beast.

A thick stream of fire erupted from the depths of the forest, engulfing the troll completely, if only for a very short moment. Roaring and shrieking, the troll flailed in a panicked attempt to put out the flames clinging to its body. Everyone looked to the source of the fire, and saw something coming running through the woods towards them, and as it reached the troll, delivering a powerful to its face and flooring it, they could see just what their mystery friend was.

Standing seven feet tall was a male Red Half-Dragon, with large wings on his back and a tail, clawed hands and feet, and blood red eyes. He wore a simple loin cloth of hide that was clearly well worn, with a belt as his only other piece of clothing, and an old and worn backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Now's your chance! Take it down!" the Half-Dragon yelled to the others, and Donatello instantly understood why.

"Of course, I remember now! Trolls can't regenerate for a while if they are hit with fire or acid! That's the only way to kill them!" he shouted to the rest of his party, all while searching his mind for a spell that would work, and he found one. With a flick of his wrist, a Fire Bolt shot out and struck the troll in the back, causing more damage and pain as it continued to flail around.

Not wasting any time, Leonardo closed in on the troll as Sephie fired another few arrows into the beast. Once he was within reach, he stabbed it through the heart, giving the sword a twist, and the troll became limp.

With the troll dead, Leonardo hurried over to Raphael, who was now sitting on the ground, still holding his bleeding face.

"Stay still, Raphael." he said, reaching out for his brother's face.

"Leave me be. I'll be fine."

"Don't be foolish, just let me help." Leonardo said, moving away Raphael's hand and holding his own above the wounds. A soft glow grew around the Paladin's hand, and the wounds closed themselves with only the blood left as evidence of their existence.

"What? How did you…?"

"It's something that I learned during my absence. The Ancient One allows me to heal others to a small degree, and I will use that to help you and the others. You already have too many scars because of me."

"… Appreciated, really."

* * *

Meanwhile, Monalisa walked over to its severed arm and pulled out her sword, only to find the arm squirming again. But before she could do anything, the Half-Dragon grabbed the arm and tossed it onto the corpse, then he breathed fire onto it, setting it ablaze, making sure that it wouldn't come back to life in any way.

"Thank you for your help." Monalisa said, approaching him carefully, though the Half-Dragon only scoffed.

"You're lucky I got here when I did, you can't kill a troll without fire or acid. You'd only have thought you killed it, only for it to regenerate and attack you while you slept."

"I remember reading that, I just wish that I had remembered it from the start." said Donatello. "I've also read that trolls can regrow any lost part of their body, even their heads, and on rare occasions a severed piece can even grow a whole new troll, given enough time."

"That's just why I set it on fire, to make sure that that doesn't happen."

"Baaah baah baaah."

The Half-Dragon looked with a raised eyebrow at the sheep, then looked at the other members of the party.

"What are two Lizards, three Turtles, and… a sheep doing all the way out here? Most of you are clearly out of your element. And who brings a sheep?"

"Baah…"

"Right, I was going to fix that." said Donatello.

"Is he going to be alright? What even happened?" asked Sephie.

"Sometimes, when he casts spells, random things happen. Most of the time, I can fix it with a simple cast of Dispel Magic, though at some times, it might get worse than simply being turned into a sheep."

"Baaah!"

"Hang on, Mikey."

The sheep glittered for a brief second, and then morphed back to his original Turtle form.

"Phew! Thanks a lot, Donnie." the youngest Turtle said, checking that he had everything. "That wool was starting to itch."

"That explains a few things." said the Half-Dragon.

"If I may ask, what brings you here?" Leonardo asked. "It seemed very lucky that you happened upon us right as we were fighting the troll."

"Luck had very little with it to do, Turtle. I've been tracking this beast for several weeks."

"Tracking it? Are you some kind of Ranger or bounty hunter?" asked Raphael.

"I'm not doing this for a living, though it does help from time to time. No, I've dedicated my life to hunting down and slaying all manners of monsters I can find. The world is far too infested with them."

"Hmm… Might I make you an offer then?" said Leonardo, seeing the potential of the Half-Dragon. "We are on an expedition to an old ruined village, and who knows what might have taken up residence there over the centuries. We could use your skill and power for dealing with whatever awaits us there."

"A village ruin you say? I passed one not too many days ago while tracking the troll, was thinking of exploring it once I had dealt with it, if I was still close enough. I guess I could tag along if you're heading there."

"Glad to hear it. I'm Leonardo Hamato."

"Tyroth."

"Then please join us around the campfire, Tyroth, we will continue on our way in the morning."

* * *

About an hour later, everyone had eaten and recovered from their encounter with the troll. They had explained more in detail for Tyroth why they were heading to Wolswan, and what they hopped to find there, but he didn't seem interested in finding any treasure. Once they were done, he just laid down on the ground to sleep, his back turned against the others. The others stayed up a bit longer, waiting to be certain that Tyroth was asleep before they said anything else, in low voices.

"I don't know about bringing him with us." said Raphael. "I don't trust Half-Dragons."

"What's the difference between a Half-Dragon and a Dragonborn anyway?" asked Michelangelo.

"Well, the Dragonborns are related to Dragons," Donatello explained. "but it's so far back in their past that they are very distant relatives at best now, much like us Turtles and normal turtles. They still retain several abilities from their Dragon heritage, but not everyone is guaranteed to get those. A Half-Dragon, on the other hand, is either created through powerful magical rituals, or had a Dragon parent that took the form of another creature and mated with it, resulting in a hybrid of the two species. Whatever the case though, a Half-Dragon is always sterile, so they are very few in numbers."

"Wonder what kind he is then." said Sephie, glancing at the sleeping reptile.

"Don't know, but the Dragon part is easily identified. It's that of a Red Dragon, which might become a problem one day."

"Why is that, Donatello?" Monalisa asked.

"All Dragons of the same specie have certain personality traits that are very prominent. All Dragons do have a degree of greed and self-importance, but other vary, Green Dragons for example are devious liars, while Gold Dragons are very reclusive, almost to the point of being very shy. Red Dragons, however, are known as arrogant tyrants, often considered the most evil of Dragons. And Half-Dragons do inherit these personality traits as well, even if they are tempered a bit by their other half."

"So he's evil on the inside? Do you think he knows?" said Michelangelo.

"I'm certain that he knows, and given that he helped us, rather than attacked us, I'm confident that he is fighting this evil."

"If that is the case, then we owe it to him to give him the benefit of a doubt." said Leonardo. "I want to believe in second chances, as I sorely need one even if I don't necessary deserve one."

"I still think we should keep an eye on him, just in case." said Raphael.

"I agree with that, at least for the time being."

The group had all reason to be cautious. Half-Dragons were rare enough for them to be noticed, and remembered, and the number of Half-Dragons that stemmed from the evil Chromatic Dragons were far higher than those from the generally good Metallic Dragons or neutral Elemental Dragons, giving the species a very bad reputation, and being powerful compared to most other humanoids, they were also feared for that.

But as the party talked about it, they failed to notice that Tyroth wasn't fully asleep. He always slept with one eye open, so to speak, keeping check on his surroundings at all times, and he heard everything they said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

 **And so the party is finally assembled, all their pieces are on the board, and treasure awaits them just around the corner, but what else is waiting with it? And there is still a bit of friction between some of the reptiles, but only time will tell how that plays out.**

 **Big thanks to my lovely wife for helping me with some ideas for this chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Wolswan**

The rest of the days went on without complications, much like the days before the encounter with the troll, which was welcomed by the group. But for all that time, the newest member of the party, Tyroth the Red Half-Dragon, kept a bit of distance from the others, not talking to them unless it was important. Donatello, Michelangelo and Sephie all tried to break the ice and get to know him, if only to make sure that they could trust him, but they had no success, as he only answered a few questions, and only shortly and vague.

Finally, they reached the ruins of Wolswan. Most of the buildings still stood despite their age, though only the stone foundations and walls were still in good shape, as most of the wooden parts, such as roofs and doors, had since long been worn down by weather and wind. Nature had also reclaimed the area, since no one had been around to keep it in check, and thus many large trees now grew very close to the buildings, some had even sprouted inside a few old houses, cutting through holes in the deteriorating roofs, and ivy and moss had covered a lot of the remaining buildings. The old keep still stood proud in the middle of the village, and its tower was the only thing that was even remotely visible above the tree tops. A small stream ran through the village from north to south east.

"When people vanish, nature takes over, taking back what belongs to it. It is beautiful, but also very sad to see." Sephie said looking around.

"No wonder that people can't find this place. It's really in the middle of nowhere." said Michelangelo. "I can hardly see the buildings for the trees. Can hardly see the forest either."

"Well, we're here now, better start searching for that treasure." said Raphael.

"Except we don't know where it is." said Leonardo, looking at Raphael. "Or did your associate tell you anything that you haven't told us?"

"Nothing other than that it would be enough to retire."

"That does sound promising." said Donatello, letting his gaze sweep across the ruins. "Hmm, the most logical place to hide treasure would be in the keep, and if nothing else that's where the village's funds would be kept, if they governed like a normal settlement. Otherwise, this treasure could be hidden anywhere, in any of the old houses, maybe the inn or something else."

"Then we'd better get looking then." said Monalisa. "But first I say that we set up a camp somewhere, so we don't have to to that when it's late and we're all tired."

"Let's see if any of the houses are in good enough shape." said Sephie, walking towards what used to be the inn. The sign with the name had since long been overgrown with ivy and moss. It was so bad, that it took a while before Sephie even found the door, and then she couldn't open it.

"Let me." Tyroth said, stepping up to the door and giving it a good kick, shattering the old wood.

"That's one way of opening a door." said Michelangelo. "Remind me not to ask for his help if I lock myself out of our house."

"We don't even have a lock on our house, Mikey." said Raphael. "And even if we did, I could easily pick it."

* * *

Stepping inside the old inn, they saw that was in roughly the same state as it had seemed from the outside. Three large oak trees, each as wide as a table had shot through the floor of the sitting area and up through the ceiling, all the way through the second floor. But despite that, the place seemed to be in decent shape. The floor and ceiling were still holding together and holding up all the weight on them as well, with only the broken wood around the tree trunks having been damaged or exposed to the elements, and a lot of furniture was still usable too.

After checking the second floor, they learned that most of the rooms were still usable, as were their beds, though any mattresses and linens had been eaten by rats a long time ago. Still, with the frames still in good shape, they could just set up their blankets and the like in those instead and it would be far better than sleeping on the ground.

The old kitchen was very dirty with droppings and filth of vermin, and any food that had been there and in the larders was long gone, not that much would even have survived for such a long time, if anything at all. But at least the old cooking pit was still usable, all it needed was a good cleaning.

"This will do as a base." said Leonardo. "But it will need at least some basic cleaning before we can use it. So that's what we'll do, clean up and set up, we'll need fire wood too."

"And we must make sure that our food is safe from vermin too." said Sephie.

"Right. And maybe another door."

"I think I can make one from one of the tables. Just need to nail the hinges to it and it should do, but we might have to bar or block it with something, as we don't have the proper tools to install the lock." said Donatello.

"If you do that, the rest of us will deal with the rest." said Leonardo, then turned to Tyroth. "Do you think you could collect some firewood for us."

"Might as well." the Half-Dragon said, and walked out of the inn.

"He's a ray of sunshine, ain't he?" said Michelangelo.

"Don't know how his life have been before, but it can't have been easy, so I don't blame him." said Leonardo. "But if we just give him some time, I think he will come to trust us, as long as we're willing to trust him."

"I sure hope so." said Sephie, looking out the door.

* * *

Over the course of a few hours, the team was able to prepare a decent place to call home for the duration of their expedition, doing some rough repairs to what furniture they wanted to use, and cleaning up the disgusting kitchen, the latter which was done by many uses of Donatello's handy Prestidigitation spell, thus saving them a lot of time and effort.

But for all that time, Tyroth was out collecting firewood all alone, having little contact with the others. He preferred it that way, having minimal contact with others, he would be less of a bother to them like that. Despite having lived most of his life under the loving care of his adoptive mother, the strongest memories he had were of the treatment he and his biological mother had had to endure. Because of him.

His earliest years had been filled with townspeople throwing insults and names at them, calling him freak, abomination, spawn of evil and monster, among other things. And in the end, it cost his mother her life, a woman that wouldn't do any harm, and she died because of him being a monster. Because she thought him worth saving.

Even in his adult years, he faced hostility from the common people, but there were very few that dared call him names any more, him being fully grown and far more powerful now, but they did avoid him, giving him fearful looks, closing up shops and hiding both children and animals from him. Even his new associates were vary of him, he had heard them talk when they thought he was asleep the first night.

But he didn't blame them, or anyone else. He was a monster, a cursed halfbreed spawned by an evil creature. He would have to endure his wretched existence for his entire life, but he wouldn't let death claim him before he had been able to kill his father. No matter the cost.

* * *

By the time they were all done, the sun had just set, so they decided to call it a night, cooking up some decent food before retiring. Everyone had gotten their own room in the inn, to which they retired once they had blocked the new door with an old cupboard. The next day would be the first of many filled with searching, so they needed their rest.

* * *

The next day, they all awoke early and was preparing breakfast. Sephie had taken it upon herself to keep cooking for the party, and was aided by Michelangelo, who had taken a liking to her food, even if it was simple.

"Mmm! Soup smells good!" Michelangelo said, taking a big sniff near the boiling pot.

"Let's hope it tastes as good as it smells." said Sephie, tasting the soup. "Hmm, could you fetch me that ginger root I found at the beginning of the week? I think it will add a bit more flavour."

"Sure thing!" Michelangelo said, and hurried out of the kitchen.

Or he would have, but as he sat down his foot during his little run, a few of the boards gave way to the sudden force and weight, causing Michelangelo to fall through the floor.

"Yaagh!" he yelped as he disappeared.

"Mikey?!" Sephie cried out and hurried over to the hole, but was careful not to fall in herself. "Mikey, are you okay?"

"Ugh, I think so… let me check. Legs, check. Arms, check. Head… … check. Still alive, but my butt is a bit sore. Where am I? It's so dark down here. Hold on, here's a torch on the wall, I think."

Sephie could see the light of the torch illuminate the dark area bellow, and while she couldn't see much from her angle, Michelangelo could see just where he was. After a few moments, a hidden hatch opened in the far corner of the kitchen, and Michelangelo climbed up the stairs with a dusty bottle in one hand.

"Check this out! I think I found the wine cellar! Care for some? Four hundred years ago was a really good year."

"For real?" she said, taking the bottle, wiping it off a bit and examining it for a short while. "Huh. Well that will make this expedition a bit more bearable."

"And that's not all, there were at least another twenty bottles down there, maybe even some casks or barrels."

"If it is all good still, we might even be able to sell some of it when we get back to Cardena. But I doubt that this is the treasure the map points to. Still, I'm sure the others will be happy with this for the time being."

* * *

The wine turned out to be completely safe, but it had a bit more kick than expected, since it was so 'well aged', so they kept the drinking to a minimum. Once they had eaten and cleaned up again, they started searching the inn thoroughly, since they had already found one hidden area, but even after several hours of searching every nook and cranny, they had nothing to show for it, save for a few copper coins, barely enough to buy to buy a couple of drinks.

But they didn't let that stop them, they were to search each and every house the same way, something that would take days to do, but they had time.

By the time the sun was at its peak, five houses had been searched from top to bottom, with nothing to show for it. The group decided to take a break for some lunch.

"Nothing so far. How many houses do we have left?" asked Raphael.

"It looks like another twenty or so, and what I think is the blacksmith as well, not to mention the keep as well." said Donatello.

"Question; why didn't we start with the keep?" asked Sephie.

"It will without a doubt take the longest time to search, but if it contains some form of riches that aren't the treasure the map leads to, we could miss that completely. This way we will be certain that we have checked everything we can." said Leonardo.

"If we have covered this much this early, I don't think it will take very long before we're done." said Monalisa.

Then she noticed a small flash of light from the forest, and something small came flying straight against them at lighting speed. Instinctively, she lashed out with her hand and caught the object when it was a mere foot away from Raphael. It turned out to be a sharp dagger, and it had clearly been aimed at his throat, but he avoided certain death thanks to Monalisa catching it, though she still cut her hand on the sharp blade, drops of blood falling from her fingers and palm.

"What the shell?!" Michelangelo exclaimed, and everyone quickly got onto their feet, drawing their weapons or equivalent.

"Damn good reflexes you got, Lizard. Anyone else would have been dead." said a female voice as the owner stepped into view.

Dressed almost completely in dark leather with a matching cloak was a small figure, a Halfling, her body was lithe and she had numerous daggers in her belt, holding two more in her hands. A few stray locks of blond hair hung over her face, but not much else was visible due to the dark cloth that covered most of her face.

"Why did you attack us?!" Leonardo demanded, but got no answer.

"Can we squash them now?" said a gruff Half-Orc as he hurried up to the Halfling. He wore a ring-mail vest that was a tight fit over his muscular torso, and a simple leather helmet, and wielded a large wooden club with a large rock bound to the top.

A third individual followed closely after, this one being a Blue Dragonborn, with a single horn growing backward from the back of his head, and two frills between it and the sides of his head. His clothing was dark red with runic silver embroidery and a small back pearl in the chest, and a dark blue cape. He flexed his clawed fingers, keeping a close eye on the reptiles.

Raphael instantly recognised the trio, and mentally cursed as he knew that they were after him and the map that he had taken from them.

"I asked you a question! Why did you attack us?!" Leonardo demanded again.

"I got no quarrel with you, Turtle, only with the thieving one that you hang around with!" the Halfling said, pointing at Raphael with a dagger.

"What's she talking about, Raph?" Michelangelo asked.

"The map that you've all followed here belongs to me! He stole it, and left us cleaning up his mess in the Abyss!"

"Hey! It was your oaf over there that started the whole thing!" Raphael objected. "I hadn't done anything and he just throws me onto your table for no reason!"

"That doesn't deny the fact that you stole my map!"

"Tough luck, but it's my map now, so just bugger off and leave me alone!"

"No chance! This has cost me far too much already!" she snapped back, then she turned to her Dragonborn companion. "I've had enough of this. Alrack, burn them to a crisp!"

"Wait, don't you need the map?" he asked.

"I've already memorised it, just hurry up and blast them!"

"As you wish."

With quick movements of his hands and fingers, Alrack conjured up a large ball of fire that he launched at the group. The burning projectile travelled too fast for them to even begin taking cover, and exploded right in the middle of them.

But as the burning flames were about to consume the group, for just a fraction of a second, they stopped, and all the fire was pulled into Tyroth's open mouth, forming a burning whirlpool as he swallowed it all, to the great shock of both friend and foe, leaving everyone unharmed.

For a brief moment, he seemed to radiate with both more vitality and power than before, and as he set his eyes on their attackers, they knew that he was a serious threat. Dashing towards them, he unleashed a fiery breath attack at them, the cone of fire enveloping them all, though the Halfling was able to roll behind a tree, avoiding most of the flame, but they still licked her armour and the heat still reached her flesh.

After seeing their friend counter-attacking, the others were quick to follow his example, for negotiating was clearly not an option with their foes. Sephie was the first of them to attack, releasing two arrows at the Half-Orc, striking him in his chest and stomach, yet he still stood up, snarling at her.

Monalisa was on her way to engage the Half-Orc, but was blocked by the blades of the Halfling as she dashed out from behind the tree, barely parrying the daggers with her own. Raphael was quick to join Monalisa in the battle, and the two exchanged blows with the Halfling, which was incredibly quick and nimble, easily keeping up with them, all three getting the odd cuts from their daggers.

* * *

The Half-Orc came charging at Tyroth, bringing down his large club, only to have it deflected by a shining field that formed around Tyroth, much to both their surprise. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, Tyroth saw Leonardo on his way to him, one hand raised with a faint glow around it, residue from him casting his Shield of Faith spell to protect his friend. Reaching the two, Leonardo bashed the Half-Orc in the chest with his shield, forcing him back a few feet.

While the Half-Orc tried to keep his footing, Tyroth pulled back his fist and set it ablaze, then delivered a powerful burning punch to the chest of the Half-Orc, causing a lot of damage as he was knocked back even more.

* * *

With their advantage gone, the Dragonborn sought to give them another one, and started channelling his magic into another spell. But right before he was done, the magic just fizzled and died in his hands. Knowing that his spell had been countered, he looked around for the cause and found Donatello and Michelangelo standing some twenty feet away from everyone, the latter of which held an apple.

Holding out the apple in front of him, Michelangelo smirked as it was suddenly and forcibly launched through the air, shattering as it hit the Dragonborn's forehead, causing him to cry out in pain while Michelangelo only laughed at the spectacle.

"I was hoping for something a bit more practical," said Donatello. "but I suppose that will do, and so will this."

With a flick of his wrist, a Fire Bolt shot out and struck the Dragonborn in his chest, knocking him off his feet as his balance was already upset from the previous attack.

Wiping the remains of the apple from his face, Alrack glared angrily at the brothers as he got back onto his feet. Before, it had only been business, but now it was personal. He would kill them, and in the most painful way possible. With his back towards the brothers, his hands began weaving a powerful spell as he muttered the arcane words, but someone else noticed what he was doing and intervened.

An arrow of green energy formed in Sephie's hand, and she wasted no time in readying and firing it at Alrack. The shot rang true, and Alrack lost his spell from the forceful impact to his shoulder, but that wasn't all that happened. Thorny brambles sprouted around him, growing rapidly as they grasped at him, preventing him from going anywhere without seriously cutting himself on the them. With no place to go, he was a very easy target, and Sephie shot another arrow that found its mark in his throat. Alrack choked on his own blood as he fell backwards in to the sharp brambles, further inflicting damage to himself as the life left his eyes and they rolled back.

"Alrack!" the Halfling exclaimed. Seeing her comrade fall, she temporary lost her focus on the battle, and Monalisa quickly exploited the opening, delivering four kicks in quick succession, striking the Halfling all over her body.

Raphael tried to use the opening as well, but by then the Halfling had been able to regain her focus, and dodged the daggers as Raphael jabbed at her, but they still managed to leave a small cut on her cheek.

Keeping her distance a bit, she looked over to the Half-Orc and how he fought Tyroth and Leonardo. The Turtle deflected another swing of the club with his shield and counter-attacked with his sword, cutting his foe across the face. The wound wasn't lethal by any means, but it was distracting enough to spell his doom.

Tyroth grabbed the Half-Orc in a big bear-hug, lifting him off the ground and squeezing him. The horrific crack of the spine and ribcage breaking echoed throughout the woods, and the Half-Orc went completely limp, ending up in a pile on the ground as Tyroth dropped him. Still alive, he frothed and gargled but to no avail, and with a quick move from Tyroth's hands, his neck was snapped as well.

With both her companions dead, the Halfling was clearly not feeling that she could win. Quickly backing off from Raphael and Monalisa, she pulled out a small round object from her belt and tossed it at the ground, a large cloud of smoke erupting with a 'poof', completely obscuring her. By the time the smoke cleared, she was nowhere to be seen, even though it only lasted a few seconds.

"She's gone? But how?" said Monalisa, examining the spot for clues.

"Don't know. Could be magic." said Raphael.

"Either way, she might come back, so we'd better be on guard." said Leonardo, then he turned to Raphael. "Was what she said true, Raphael? About you stealing their map?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does."

"Well fine then! Yes, I took their map, but not until after that Half-Orc tossed me across the room, and for no reason either! I hadn't done a thing to them! I just grabbed the map when I had the chance, nothing else!"

"You said that you were tired of stealing."

"And I am! But I will keep doing it if it means we survive! It's how we've survived after you abandoned us!"

"Very well. But in the future, I want you to be honest about this sort of thing, you can trust me that much."

"We'll see about that."

"Hey, Tyroth." Michelangelo asked his big friend. "How did you do that thing that you did? Eating the fire and all. Is that a Half-Dragon thing?"

"It has nothing to do with my worse half. That was one of many skills that I have learnt over the years."

"It was Dragonslayer arts, wasn't it?" said Donatello.

"Dragonslayer arts? What's that?" asked Sephie.

"A special kind of martial arts created to specifically fight dragons, using their own element against them, though they are effective against pretty much anything with the same element."

"What makes you think that I am a Dragonslayer?"

"Well, while some of what you did can come from other sources, there is one skill that only Dragonslayers are capable of, devouring the element that they use, just like you did with that Fireball spell."

"So you do know something about us, huh? That's impressive."

"I've never heard of Dragonslayers, at least not that kind. People who've killed dragons, sure, but not this." said Raphael.

"They are from ancient times, and there aren't many practitioners left in the world, or at least not that many know of. Might I ask where you learned this art?"

"That's my business."

"Then we will leave it at that." said Leonardo. "Let's check the fallen for anything that might be of use to us, and then give them a proper burial before we continue."

"Might have to check our wounded too." said Sephie, looking at Raphael and Monalisa.

"Don't worry about us, the blades weren't poisoned, only sharp. The wounds will heal." said Monalisa.

"Then might I have a closer look at that map, Raph." said Donatello.

"Huh? Why?"

"Something that the Halfling and the Dragonborn said don't make sense to me. Right before he threw that Fire Ball, he asked if she needed the map, but she said that she had already memorised it."

"Now that you mention it, I noticed that too." said Monalisa. "But why would they be concerned about that if they were already here? The map only leads here, doesn't it?"

"That's what I want to check. I think that it might have secrets that she knew about."

"You take care of that, and we will take care of the rest." said Leonardo. "And keep your eyes open."

 **A first real clash against another party, and our team managed to win this battle too, despite being caught off guard. Point's to Monalisa for her reflexes.**

 **And Tyroth have proven that he has power enough to deal with even strong opponents, and that's about what the others have been able to learn about him so far.**

 **But have they now gotten a vital clue to where the treasure might be? Or was the Halfling wrong, or lying?**

 **Story possibly upgrading to M rated after this.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Another Mouth To Feed**

After an hour had passed, the group had searched their fallen foes and subsequently buried them, going over their findings.

Their clothes were of little interest, though the Half-Orc's ringmail-vest was still in good shape and could probably be sold for a small amount of coins, if nothing else at least its metal had some value.

The small black pearl that was embedded in chest of the Dragonborn's clothes was of particular interest to Donatello. After prying it loose he began thinking of how to best fixate it to his staff, hoping that he could use it as an Arcane Focus, being able to us it instead of all but a few material components for his spells.

But that wasn't all they found on the dead. A total of five Potions of Healing were in their belts, still unharmed, and the Dragonborn also had two scrolls tucked away inside a cylindrical leather case on his back, and both had a few pouches with a small number of coins.

"So, what do we have here, Donnie?" Sephie asked as the group gathered in the inn.

"Well, I used my Detect Magic spell to check the stuff and this is what I found. The pearl isn't magical, but it was used as a focus, and I'm going to do the same once I figure out how. The potions aren't either, they are alchemical, as to be expected, and they work as they should. Lastly, we have these two scrolls, and they are indeed magical, one containing a spell of the Transmutation school and the other of the Conjuration school, but that's all my spell could discern. Give me some more time and I should be able to figure out what spells they are."

"And?" Raphael asked.

"Well, given enough time and materials, I should be able to decipher, understand and possibly copy them into my spellbook for future use, but it will cost us the scrolls regardless if I succeed or not."

"I meant with the map!"

"Oh, right, the map. Well, there is nothing magical about it at all."

"Nothing? Are you sure?" said Leonardo.

"Positive."

"Then what did they mean?" said Monalisa, scratching her head. "They way the Halfling spoke made it sound like there was something more to the map."

"Here, let me." said Raphael and snatched the map from Donatello. He then brought it dangerously close the flame of the lit candle on the table.

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

"Relax, I think I know what's going on."

As he said that, brown text started to fade into existence on the back of the map. It was an etched, flourished runic style.

"Just as I thought. Invisible ink." Raphael said, placing the map on the table again with the new text facing up.

"Incredible! How did you know?" Sephie exclaimed.

"It's a trick that I've learned from some of my contacts. We usually use some lemon juice with a few drops of water instead of normal ink when writing a message. Once it's dry, you can't see it, unless you heat it up, then the dried juice will turn brown, just like this."

"Of course, I should have known." said Donatello. "But this raises another question; how did she read it? This is clearly some simple invisible ink, most likely lemon juice like Raph said, but that doesn't go invisible again."

"So, if she spoke the truth, she must have read the text without revealing it." said Leonardo, holding his chin in thought. "And she was right about the text."

"My guess is that she used something like a See invisibility spell, or maybe someone else did for her." said Donatello.

"Doesn't matter. We got the text, let's read it." said Michelangelo, taking a quick look at the runes. "Um… can anyone read this?"

The others took a closer look at the text and shook their heads, except for Tyroth, who frowned.

"I can read it." he almost snarled. "It's written in Abyssal, the fiendish language of Demons."

"Demons? That doesn't sound good." said Monalisa.

"They aren't the only ones that know that language, it has made its way into mortal hands many, many times over the millennia." said Donatello. "Many scholars, mages and even priests knows at least a little Abyssal, to be able to better deal with potential problems with demonic origin."

"So, how come you know it, Tyroth?" Michelangelo asked.

"I got my reasons."

"Very well. Can you translate this for us then?" Leonardo asked.

Tyroth picked up the map, reading the text several times in his mind before reading it out aloud in Common.

"'To the one who find this map, I, Fronak Gostull, mage of the Red Circle, came to Wolswan in search of secrets lost to time. But, I was careless, and now I lay dying from my wounds with no way to heal them. It is my last hope that with magic sending this to someone else, the secrets and riches may be recovered.

It is hidden deep underneath the keep, in ancient catacombs, the entrance to which is in the basement store room. Press the third brick from the bottom up in the right corner in the back of the room and the stairs will be revealed.

Best of luck.

Fronak Gostull, mage of the Red Circle.'"

"That was a lot of text for a final message." said Sephie. "Does anyone know anything about this 'Red Circle'?"

"It's a Magic Guild, they are based in the Northern most parts of Fargon, tends to stay out of any conflicts. But I don't know much than that." said Donatello.

"Then the risk of them interfering is basically zero, and that suits me just fine." said Raphael. "Now we know that there is something here, there must be. And that Halfling might be on her way to it right now. We must get to it before her."

"Take it easy, Raphael." said Leonardo. "We can't rush in blindly, we'll have to be careful. This Fronak evidently fell victim to something in these catacombs, and there is no telling what the Halfling might have done, if she is even still around."

"Why don't we just see if this entrance to the catacombs exists first, then we decide what to do." said Monalisa.

"Sounds like an idea to me." said Michelangelo.

* * *

Meanwhile, underneath the village of Wolswan, aided by the light of her torch, the Halfling hurried along the narrow hallway of the catacombs, keeping her eyes open for any kinds of traps that might block her way. She had already seen a few triggers, which she easily avoided, even though she could have easily disarmed, but she wanted to leave them in case the reptiles would follow her.

After following a second stair case down another floor, and continuing down the corridor for a while longer, she came to a junction, with two pathways to choose from, one to the left and the other to the right.

Trying to decide which way she would take, she suddenly heard a faint murmuring and chattering around her, but she couldn't determine where it came from. Looking around, she drew her dagger, searching for any signs of what might be making that sound, but she saw nothing.

"Come out! I know that you're there!"

The sounds only grew in intensity, but she still couldn't make out what was said or from where, it was as if it were dozens of voices at the same time. As she continued to look around, she shifted feet and felt how one of the tiles she step on sank slightly with a click and she froze. Sweat formed on her forehead as she heard the scraping of rocks behind her and the chatter growing much louder.

She wanted to turn around, but her body wouldn't react, she was as paralysed by the babbling behind her. And as it got closer, she could feel how the floor became soft and dough-like. Terror gripped her heart, but she couldn't scream, then the voices were all silenced, and she felt a warm liquid slowly ooze over her shoulders.

Finally able to scream, there was no one to hear her, it just echoed in the corridors before fading away.

* * *

The group had reached the store room in the basement of the keep, Michelangelo being the one to first search for the correct brick.

"Let's see… third from the bottom… there!"

Pressing the brick, it slid in like a button and clicked, then a part of the wall slid inwards and to the side, revealing spiral staircase leading downward. Michelangelo was about to go down, but Leonardo grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Calm down, Michelangelo. We can't rush in blind."

"Why not?"

"What, weren't you listening?" said Raphael. "Something down there killed that mage guy, probably traps of some kind."

"Oh, right, I forgot that."

"Are you familiar with traps, Raphael?" Leonardo asked.

"Somewhat. More than most of us here at least."

"Then I want you to go first."

"Wait, what?!"

"Look, if the catacombs are built similarly to the keep, then it might be too narrow to walk in any other way than a line. I want you to go first if there are any traps, because I trust that you can find and hopefully disarm them before the rest of us blunder into them."

"Hmm, fair enough I suppose. So how does the rest of this 'marching order' go?"

Leonardo thought for a short while, going over a few possibilities before answering.

"I and Monalisa will follow behind you, ready to help fight whatever threat we might come across. Donatello, Michelangelo and Sephie will be next, as they can support us from a distance with spells and arrows. And Tyroth will be last, keeping watch backwards in case something tries to sneak up on us."

"Sounds like a wise strategy. I'm okay with it." said Monalisa.

With everyone ready, and their torches lit, the group slowly made their way down the stairs and into the catacombs.

As agreed, Raphael took point, checking their path for potential traps, finding and disarming several traps, including one that would have caused several blades to shoot out from the floor, causing great damage if they had hit someone. As they continued to delve deeper into the corridor, they lit any wall torches they came across, and eventually they reached another spiral staircase that led even further down.

"No sign of the Halfling yet, if she's even still in the area." said Monalisa.

"I think she is." said Raphael, kneeling and drawing his fingers in the dust. "The dust has been disturbed, and there are recent traces of ash here and there, probably from a torch. Someone's been through here."

"Stay on guard then, there is no telling what awaits us here." Leonardo cautioned.

The group continued onward, but after a few minutes, they all heard voices coming from farther ahead. Faint, incoherent voices, all babbling, gibbering and chattering. They all stopped when they heard them, and shortly after, the source of the voices came into view, illuminated by the light of the torches, and it was a terrible sight to behold.

A large, flesh coloured amoeboid mass with several tendrils, its entire body was covered with eyes and toothed mouths of varying kinds. Every mouth was saying something, creating the cacophony that caused the air to almost vibrate. A single head floated right under the surface of the mass, just visible enough for the group to recognise it. It was what remained of the Halfling, her grisly remains being dissolved in front of them, and as the last traces of her was absorbed by the creature, her mouth and eyes boiled to the surface, joining the others as they welcomed their next meal.

 **The group has uncovered a lead in their hunt for treasure, that's what I call progress. :)**

 **But what the hell is that thing?! Well, obviously I know, and so might some Dnd fans reading this, but the rest of you, let's just say you won't like it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **A Mouthful**

The amoeboid mass of eyes, mouths and liquid flesh chattered, shrilled and wailed as it crawled towards the group, tendrils with mouths forming that latched on to the floor with their teeth and pulled the mass forward.

"What in the Abyss is that!?" Michelangelo exclaimed.

"Let's kill it first, and worry about that later!" Tyroth yelled as he pushed the others aside, making his way towards the creature.

"Tyroth, wait!" Leonardo cried out, but the Half-Dragon didn't listen. And Raphael quickly followed him, having the same idea and his daggers drawn.

Reaching the creature, Tyroth set his fist on fire and punched it as hard as he could. The fleshy substance rippled with the fire and force of the punch, and while the creature was damaged, it was far from enough to stop it. A piece of the creature reached out with one of the mouths at the end, and sunk its teeth into Tyroth's stomach, leaving nasty wounds behind.

But that was not all the blob-like creature did. Another of its many mouths spat a large glob at the bulk of the reptiles, which exploded in a strong light when it hit the ceiling right above their heads.

"Ahh! I can't see!" Michelangelo cried out, not having been able to shield his eyes in time. The others either were able to look away or had the blinding light behind them. As Raphael sliced and stabbed the creature with his daggers by Tyroth's side, Leonardo analysed the situation, seeing that there was no room to fight the creature in melee with more than two at a time.

"Donatello! Sephie! Support them!" he called out, hoping that their ranged attacks would help.

Donatello searched his mind for a spell that would be of use, while Sephie drew her bow, but before she was able to ready an arrow, she froze. The voices of the beast had continued to cackle and gibber ever since they encountered it, they had all heard it, and the maddening cacophony finally got to her. Covering her ears, she dropped to her knees, tears falling as her entire body shook.

"… make it stop… please… make it stop…" she whimpered.

"Sephie!" Donatello exclaimed, worried for her sake, but he had to focus on what was more urgent.

Pulling out the black pearl from his belt pouch, he focused his magic through it, hoping that it would work as a focus. During his studies of magic, he had learned one spell that he didn't think that he would be able to cast for a long time, as he lacked some of the material components to focus the magic through, but if the pearl worked, that wouldn't be a problem any more.

He could feel his magic working within the pearl, and with the spell ready, he unleashed it upon the monster. A sphere of fire, five foot across, erupted behind the creature, hovering close enough to to cause great burns to it, making its many mouths shriek in pain.

"Whoa! Easy with the magic, Donnie!" Raphael objected, feeling the heat radiated by the sphere behind the beast. Trying to back away, it was at that moment that he noticed that the floor had turned soft and dough-like, preventing him from moving.

Seeing that his brother and Tyroth seemed to be stuck in close combat with the creature, Leonardo channelled his holy magic to place a Shield of Faith spell on Raphael, the same protective spell that he had placed on Tyroth in their previous battle. That was all he could do at the moment. With the floor around the monsters all soft and sticky he didn't want anyone else to get stuck, he could just hope that Tyroth and Raphael could handle themselves, and that their ranged supporters would recover from what had afflicted them.

And all the while, the monster kept blabbering and chattering.

Tyroth kept punching the fleshy mass, scoring several hits that crushed eyes and broke teeth, and Raphael jabbed his daggers deep into the creature's eyes, aiming to blind it, one eye at a time if he had to. The creature lashed out with a thick arm-like part of it, this time aiming at Raphael, but the mass of mouths met resistance, hitting the shimmering shield that protected Raphael, though several of the teeth did get through and manage to scrape against the leather armour.

* * *

Still shaking and crying, Sephie struggled against the psychological impact of the monster's intense and incoherent gibbering. She knew that the others needed her help, the entire fight might even depend on if she could support them from a distance, but she just couldn't do anything. She hurt within from feeling so useless, but she couldn't let it continue like that.

Focusing on trying to block out the sounds, on ignoring them, she finally gained control over her body again, and on wobbly legs, she got back up and readied her bow again, firing two arrows at the beast, having expertly aimed them between her friends and hitting her target, piercing several eyes in the process.

* * *

Poor Michelangelo rubbed his eyes, having only seen bright spots since the spit-flash. Blinking a few times, the spots started to fade and the world started to come back into focus.

"Hey! I can see again!"

"Then help us, Mikey. I need to concentrate on my own spell." said Donatello, focusing to retain the flaming sphere near the creature.

"One spell, coming right up!"

With a few quick flicks with his wrists, he shot three Magic Missiles at the monster, the three projectiles quickly flew over his friends and struck the creature, blowing off a few chunks of the liquid flesh. As soon as Michelangelo and cast the spell, his Wild Magic surged again, and he started levitating a few feet above the floor.

"Well this is a bother." he said.

* * *

The ranged attacks, combined with the constant barrage of attacks from Tyroth and Raphael, had been able to deal a large amount of damage to the creature, and it felt it. Normally only driven by its instinct to feed on other creatures, it now felt threatened, that its foes were too much to handle, and it needed to escape. But with the flaming orb right behind it, the heat of which already burning its body even from a few feet, it couldn't move.

It's eyes searched for a safe place, all looking all around, and a few didn't like what they saw. A flaming fist collided with the centre of the amoeboid from, and with a final unison of shrieks from the mouths, the creature collapsed, it's liquid form slowly spilling out over the floor like syrup.

"It's over." Tyroth said.

"Finally. That thing was freaking me out." said Michelangelo, still floating around.

"Are you okay?" Monalisa asked.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." he said, then he dropped to the floor with a thud. "Oof! Well, mostly fine."

"What about the rest of you?" Leonardo asked, looking mainly at Tyroth and Raphael.

"Just some scratches on my armour, thanks to that spell you placed on me." said Raphael.

"I did what I could to help. This hallway was too narrow to fight in, just as I thought." Leonardo then turned to Tyroth, looking at his wounds. "I can heal that for you."

"Don't bother. This is nothing, it'll heal eventually."

"But-"

"I said no! Save it for those who need it." Tyroth snapped, putting an end to the discussion.

"If you insist…" Leonardo sighed, but then turned to Sephie. "How are you doing?"

"I… I think I'll be fine. Those… sounds, they got to me somehow. I don't know how or why, only that it crippled me, like fear but still not."

"We all felt that effect." said Donatello, walking over to the remains and examined it. "These things do that to people. All it takes is a tiny slip of your willpower and you'll end up as you did, Sephie, or worse."

"But what is it? What twisted level of the Nine Hells could have spawned it?" asked Raphael.

"It's called a Gibbering Mouther, I've read about them. They aren't a naturally occurring creature, at least not on any plane that I know of. They are the result of magical experiments and rituals gone horribly wrong, or sometimes, they are created intentionally."

"Who would want to create something like that?" said Monalisa.

"Don't know, but at least this one is dead now." Donatello said, taking out a book, inkwell and quill from his backpack. "I'll just take some notes on this thing, and then we can continue. After we've set it on fire. Take some time to rest a bit."

* * *

It took about an hour before the team resumed their trek into the catacombs, evading the remains and setting them on fire as they left it behind. A little while later, they came to the junction where the Halfling had met her gruesome end. The door to the hidden room where the Mouther had been held was still open, but there was nothing inside the small area.

"So, which way do we go? Left or right?" asked Michelangelo.

"Good question." said Sephie. She knelt down and inspected the floor. "Doesn't seem like she picked either way, the Halfling. The dust in both paths are still untouched, but there is nothing right here in the middle, and nothing down the path we came. Probably got stuck on that… thing."

"So from here on out, we're walking where no one has been for many years." said Leonardo. "And whichever way we take, we can always return to the surface to rest and recover, should we need it."

"Unless-"

"Don't jinx it, Mikey!" Raphael snapped. "Let' just pick a path and get it over with. I vote left."

"Sounds just as good as the other, so I vote left as well." said Monalisa.

* * *

With Raphael in the lead, they slowly made their way down the left path, which also had a few traps hidden along the way, all disarmed by Raphael. After a while, they spotted someone laying on the floor, partially leaning against the wall.

"Dead guy here." Raphael said as he knelt by the body.

The person had clearly been dead for a long time, his crimson skin was dry and stretched like leather over his bones, having a thin layer of dust. A pair of horns protruded from the sides of his head, curled backwards. His robes were once red with silver embroidery, but had since lost much of their luster and had a hole in the right side. There were also large dried blood stains on the floor and around the hole in the robes, underneath the dust. Laying next to the man was a leather bound book and a large leather bag.

"He's a Tiefling." Monalisa said, examining the body. "Looks like he got stabbed, probably bled to death, poor guy. I think this might be our Red Circle mage."

"Sure looks that way, the robes look the part. Let's see what he had on him." said Donatello, picking up the bag and book. "Simple bag, nothing really special about it as far as I can see. Got some writing equipment in it, parchments, quills and ink, probably dried up by now."

Opening the book, Donatello was hoping to find something of use or interest, but instead found that most of the pages had been ruined by blood.

"Curses! The pages must have absorbed the blood. I don't think I can make anything out of this."

"A shame. But he got nothing else on him?" said Monalisa. "I would have thought that a member of a Magic guild would have had more on him. At the very least some coins, but I haven't found any."

"Think someone else came here long ago and took his stuff?" asked Michelangelo.

"Possible. But the dust has since settled, so it must have been shortly after he died then." said Leonardo. "We still got a way to go on this path, so we might get our answers farther ahead. Just be careful, there are most likely more traps."

* * *

After a bit more walking, and a few more traps disarmed, the group reached the end of the hallway, which was a wooden door. Raphael examined the door for a short while.

"They really don't want people to get to whatever is on the other side. Even the door is rigged with a trap." he said. "See the holes in the walls, one on each side of the door? I'm willing to bet whatever comes out of them is what dealt the killing blow to the Tiefling back there."

"Can you disarm this?" Leonardo asked.

"I'll give it a try, just be quiet so I can concentrate. Traps rigged to doors are always a bit tricky."

Pulling out his trusty little pouch with various lockpicks, hooks and similar small tools, Raphael started working on the door, looking for the trigger.

'Here we go...' he thought to himself. 'So that's how it is… the trigger is connected to the locking mechanism, open the door and spring the trap… need to be careful now. If I can just disconnect that part… and…'

Just as Raphael was about to disconnect the final parts of the trigger, Michelangelo suddenly sneezed, making his hands twitch and hit the wrong parts with his tools. Instantly and very quickly, Raphael threw himself backwards, just barely avoiding the two spikes that shot out from the holes in the walls.

"Damn it, Mikey! You're the biggest walking disaster ever!"

"Sorry, bro. I got some dust up my nostrils."

"Should have left you at home if I didn't fear that you might blow it up." Raphael mumbled. "Whatever. Trap's disarmed, the door's safe."

"Great work, Raphael. You aren't hurt, are you?" Leonardo asked.

"Not a scratch. Now let's see what they were protecting." Raphael said as he got back on his feet and slowly opened the door.

Stepping inside, they found that the room was large and circular, with a stone altar in the middle of the room and four tall braziers just a few feet from each corner. They were already lit, the flames casting their warm light over the rest of the room, revealing more of the room's dark history.

There were seventeen humanoid skeletons around the altar, all seemingly sitting in a position of prayer, as if they had been priests or cultists that died during some form of sermon or similar. In addition to that, evenly spaced out along the walls were large metal spikes protruding from them, with dried blood on both the spikes and the floor directly underneath. They numbered in the dozens, and on nine of them hung humanoid corpses, each skewered on the spike through the back. Every corpse was old and dry, almost mummified by time, and what little clothes they once wore were reduced to rags.

But the thing that caught the party's attention was the lone figure standing behind the altar. A female figure dressed in black leather armour with spiked skull-shaped shoulder-pads, holding a serrated longsword. Her long hair and skin were white as chalk, she possessed no nose, only a pair of slits, sharp teeth were visible, her nails were like claws and her eyes were dark as charcoal.

"You are strong to have come this far… That is good..." she said with a voice that sounded dry, devoid of life, looking at the reptiles with her cold, dark eyes. "Master Orcus will feast upon your souls… just like those that came before… Just like we who lived above… I will sacrifice you to feed my master…"

"Oh yeah? You and what army?" said Michelangelo, drawing his small club and waving it at her.

Raising her own sword, she pointed it at the reptiles, and at that moment, the skeletons rose to their feet and turned towards the party, their hands clawing the air as their bones creaked. The corpses on the walls also came to life, pushing themselves off the spikes and began shuffling towards the party, accompanying the skeletons.

"Never ever ask that question, Mikey." said Donatello.

"Noted."

 **Ask and thou shall receive, as they say. Mikey asked the one question you really shouldn't when facing a villain, and has to face the consequences.**

 **With the party having delved deeper into the catacombs, they have only begun to face what dungeons might contain. Now how will they get out of this predicament? Find out next time. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **A Bone To Pick**

The nearly two dozen undead shambled towards the seven reptiles, all of which readied themselves for battle. Tyroth was just about to rush into combat, but Leonardo held out his arm with shield in front of him, blocking him.

"Please wait, Tyroth. I have a way of dealing with the undead." he said. Tyroth glared at the turtle, snarling a little, but nodded and waited all the same.

Leonardo reached for the simple silver talisman that he wore around his neck, a plain, round piece of silver that had the word 'honour' engraved in stylised text. Pulling it off, he lifted it high and said a small prayer that he had been thought during his training at the temple of the Ancient One.

"On my honour, I will defend those in need, and be their light. Now, unholy creatures, begone! I command you!"

The talisman began glowing with a faint white light, not nearly enough to even act as a small light source, but for the undead, it was like staring into the brightest sun of white. All of them, the woman included, shielded their eyes, or eye-sockets, and most of them turned around, trying their best to escape the holy power.

"This won't keep them at bay forever." Leonardo explained to the others. "We only got a short while to make the most of this, and as soon as we damage one of them, the effect will cease on that one."

"That's more than enough for me." said Tyroth as he walked up to one of the skeletons that was still advancing, and grabbed it by the leg. He effortlessly lifted it above his head and slammed it down into the rock floor like a hammer, shattering the skeleton and crushing many of its bones. Then he hurried over to another skeleton and delivered a strong punch that sent the head flying, hitting the wall and breaking to pieces.

Monalisa also engaged one of the skeletons, a more reptilian looking one, and with some quick and precise kicks and punches, several bones were broken and the undead staggered backwards a bit. That gave Monalisa another opening, and she launched herself up a few feet with her strong legs, and brought her elbow down on the skull, easily shattering it to pieces, and making the remaining bones fall into a pile on the floor.

Michelangelo went up to a zombie, beating it across its head with his club. It didn't do much damage, but it did draw attention from Raphael, who quickly slipped behind the zombie, his daggers sinking deep into its back and neck. The zombie fell to the side as Raphael pulled out his blades, but halfway down, it straightened right back up again.

"What the shell?!"

An arrow struck the undead in its head and it collapsed again, only to once again straighten back up. Sephie gritted her teeth in annoyance and shot another arrow in the head, only for the whole thing to repeat a third time.

"Oh come on! Just die properly already!" she sighed loudly.

A bolt of fire was shot from the tip of Donatello's staff, striking the zombie in the chest and finally bringing it down.

"Damn good constitution it had." Donatello muttered. "Zombies can sometimes take more damage than they really are able to before they go down! Just keep hitting them, and they will go down eventually!" he then shouted to the others.

"Watch each others' backs!" Leonardo shouted, engaging another zombie, blocking it's path and slashing it across the torso with his sword, leaving a long and deep gash. The zombie tried to attack Leonardo by pummelling him with its arms, but the Turtle could easily avoid the obvious attack.

* * *

The undead woman snarled at the reptiles, forcing her way through the divine powers that radiated from Leonardo, her serrated blade raised and ready to strike. But Tyroth noticed this as he smashed another skeleton to pieces, and placed himself between the two. The woman didn't care for the interruption and lashed out with her sword at the Half-Dragon instead. First strike just skidded off Tyroth's scales as he raised his left arm in an angle, but the second cut deep into his arm. Yet, Tyroth stood his ground, only clenching his teeth in response to the pain.

Seeing that Tyroth was locked in battle with the woman, Sephie quickly shot two arrows at her, hitting her sword arm and leg. But the undead fortitude of the woman allowed her to simply shrug off the pain, only really noticing it as an indication that she had been damaged, however, that was still enough to draw her attention from the Half-Dragon.

Drawing upon his Fire Dragonslayer arts, Tyroth exhaled a stream of fire, ten feet wide and fifty feet long, engulfing the undead woman completely and burning off most of her hair. The fire also struck several zombies and skeletons, breaking them out of the warding effect placed upon them by Leonardo, though one of the skeletons was blown apart by the forceful flames.

* * *

Seeing Tyroth using so much power, Michelangelo decided to follow his example and used his strongest spell available, Erupting Earth, aiming it at a cluster of the turned undead. A fountain of churned earth and stone erupted in the middle of them, destroying several skeletons and causing much damage to the zombies as well. But just like those that were hit by Tyroth's flames, those hit by Michelangelo's spell also snapped out of the warding effect that had forced them away, and they all turned back towards the party.

One skeleton walked up to Michelangelo and tried to clawed him across his face. The young Turtle instinctively raised his arms in defence, and felt how the skeleton's fingers left wounds in the palm of his hands. Before the skeleton could attack again, Monalisa intervened, striking it with her palm, breaking many ribs and following up with a roundhouse kick that sent the head flying.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" she asked.

Michelangelo was about to answer, but as he looked at the wounds, they healed right in front of his eyes.

"Looks like I'm fine. How awesome is that?" he said holding up his hand for her to see.

A dagger swooshed past them and impaled the eye of a zombie behind the two reptiles, and Raphael rushed up to drive his other dagger into the chest.

"Stay focused!" he said as he pulled both blades out of the zombie, but it still stood up. Monalisa quickly gave it a few powerful jabs to the side and it finally fell, remaining still on the floor.

* * *

With more zombies piling up around Leonardo, he had to really work to keep them at bay. Luckily, most of their attacks either missed or only hit his shield or armour, leaving him unharmed, but a few did get through his defence and left Leonardo with some bruises and claw marks. He had already cut down the one he began with but, the other three proved to be more of a challenge. Donatello saw this and shot a spell at one of them, an orb of pure lightning. The dried flesh sizzling as the spell struck it, and the zombie fell to the ground unmoving.

With an opening, Leonardo bashed his shield against one zombie, pushing it back a few feet, then he slashed the other with his sword. The blade rung true, and he hit the undead creature with such force and precision that he cut it in two, the upper half of the zombie still flailing with its arms as it fell to the floor and finally stopped moving. Another slash from his sword robbed the remaining zombie of one of its hands, making it a lesser threat than before.

* * *

As Tyroth continued to fight with the undead woman, more of the other undead started to swarm him. He could easily deal with a few skeletons with a couple of well placed hits, but that would just leave him open to attacks from the rest of the undead, especially the woman, who was clearly the single biggest threat of the bunch. However, he felt that he didn't have much of an option, he had to thin their ranks. He grabbed two of the skeletons by their ribcages and slammed them together, reducing them to loose bones and small clouds of bone meal.

But with Tyroth occupied with the lesser foes, the undead woman took the opportunity and stabbed the Half-Dragon in his stomach with her sword, making him grunt out in pain. Sephie saw this and shot two more arrows at the woman, striking her arm and shoulder. Growling in annoyance, the undead woman glared at Sephie and drew a dagger hidden in her armour, throwing it at Sephie.

Sephie tried to dodge the attack, but she wasn't able to completely get out of the way in time and the dagger impaled her by the collarbone. Her leather tunic did absorb some of the impact, but the sharp blade still cut into her flesh, red blood staining her green armour.

The undead woman smirked at Sephie getting injured, but that smirk was quickly wiped off her face when Tyroth headbutted her face, knocking out several teeth. The rest of the undead he fought however quickly assaulted him, fists and claws beating and cutting him. His tough scales blocked much of the hits, but he was showing signs of injuries all the same.

Raphael and Monalisa saw this and rushed to his aid, taking down two more skeletons and another zombie on the way, especially with the aid of one of Michelangelo's Fire Bolts to finish off the zombie. Another Fire Bolt burned the face of the zombie Leonardo was fighting, allowing him to finish it off with a decapitating slash, he and Donatello then followed the others' lead, rushing to aid Sephie in supporting Tyroth.

With all the remaining undead focusing on him, Tyroth was in quite the pickle. Quickly looking around, he saw the four braziers in the middle of the room. Inhaling deeply, the flames from the one closest to him was drawn into his mouth, and after swallowing the fire, he felt much better, ready to bring the pain.

But someone else did that first. Raphael drove his daggers into the back of a zombie, pushing it slightly to the side with his momentum and giving Tyroth some arm-room, which was more than enough as the Half-Dragon's burning fist collided with the head of that zombie, destroying it. At the same time, Monalisa dashed up to Tyroth and vaulted over him, taking down two skeletons with a split-kick before landing gracefully where the skeletons once stood, only to strike the last zombie in the chest with her palm, causing it to stagger.

Leonardo got up behind the last skeleton and bashed it with his shield, sending bones flying all over, followed by jabbing his sword into the bowel of the zombie, felling it. Doing a combo attack, Donatello and Michelangelo both flung a Fire Bolt each at the undead woman, striking her in her chest and making her stagger backwards half a foot.

She looked around and saw that all her minions had been vanquished by the party, snarling she readied her blade for a final attack to at least claim one of their lives. But Sephie was faster than her, and pulling out the dagger that had hit her, she returned it to the woman in the same way she had gotten it to begin with. The dagger hit the woman in the side of her neck, and she stumbled while dropping her sword, but Sephie wasn't done yet, she drew one of her own daggers and threw it as well, this time hitting the woman in the head, finally disrupting whatever force that kept her alive.

As she fell to the ground, her already dark eyes seemed to turn even darker as whatever semblance of life they once had left them. The group took a quick look around, and were relieved that only the living were left standing.

"Everyone okay?" Leonardo asked.

"I'm more than okay, look at this!" said Michelangelo, snatching one of Raphael's daggers.

"Hey!" Raphael objected, but Michelangelo didn't care. He just quickly cut his palm ever so slightly, showing the others that it healed on its own, though it didn't heal completely this time.

"Hey, what gives?"

"Now I understand." said Donatello. "You had a Wild Magic surge again, one that caused you to heal quickly. Like most of them, this one only lasted a short while, about a minute or so."

"What a bummer. Here I was hoping that I might be like that troll we fought before."

"You're fine then." said Leonardo, then turning to Sephie. "How about you, Sephie?"

"It's not deep, but it does still hurt and bleed a bit." she said, holding her wound.

"Here, let me." Leonardo said, touching the wounded spot with a faint glow around his hand. When he removed his hand, the wound had closed itself almost completely.

"Thank you, Leo. Feels much better now. Shame with the stain though, bloodstains are so hard to clean."

"I can fix that." said Donatello. A snap of his finger, and the stain was gone, with not even the faintest of traces left. "Prestidigitation is such a useful little cantrip of a spell."

"That's even better, thanks. I don't suppose that you can fix the cut in the leather as well."

"Sorry, got no spell for that I'm afraid."

"It's okay, I'll just have to try and fix it myself later. How about you, Leo? Are you okay?"

"Just a few bruises and scratches, nothing that require aid."

"That's good." said Sephie before turning to Tyroth. Seeing all the bleeding cuts on his torso and arms, she couldn't help but feel very sorry for him, especially since she wasn't able to help as much as she wanted to.

"We need to fix you up." Leonardo said, walking over to him.

"Don't bother."

"Please don't be so stubborn and just accept this. A quick Cure Wounds spell will do wonders."

"I told you not to bother!" Tyroth snarled, locking eyes with Leonardo. And with that, Leonardo saw something deep in Tyroth's eyes that sent shivers down his spine.

"We both know that you can only cast so many spells without a proper rest, so save them for when you really need them. If we're going to get a good rest, my wounds will heal too."

"At least take one healing potion, just in case." Leonardo continued, giving the one he carried to the Half-Dragon.

"Fine." Tyroth said with a scowl, taking the potion and quickly drinking it. Instantly after, most of his wounds healed to a good degree. "I'll make sure that all these things are dead. Tell me when you're ready to continue."

Seeing the Half-Dragon walk between the many corpses and pieces there of, crushing the heads or skulls of each of them, the others had a quick meeting.

"What is his problem? He's even worse than me, and that's saying something." said Raphael.

"Something… truly terrible happened to him at some point in his life." Leonardo said. "No… terrible isn't a powerful enough word."

"How do you know?" asked Sephie.

"I saw it in his eyes. They are the eyes of someone that has lived through a harrowing event. Whatever it might be, it still haunts him to this day. It drives him, but to what end, I don't know."

"So he has had a rough time, who hasn't?" said Raphael.

"I'm afraid that what most have experienced, even the four of us, and possibly even Sephie and Mona I believe, can't even compare, at least not from what I've seen. I was aware that his life must have been a hard one, but what I saw in his eyes… any guess I might have had wouldn't even come close. If you ever look deep into his eyes, you'll understand what I mean."

"Whatever." Raphael scoffed. "Let's just get on with this so we can get our treasure and go back home."

"Very well. What do you think about this room, Donatello?"

"Well..." Donatello said, letting his gaze sweep across the entire room before he started walking around and examining it closer under the light of his torch.

"It's obviously some form of ritual chamber. And I see what might be very old blood stains on the altar, so I believe that they performed sacrifices as well, at least after some point in time."

"Think it was to this Orcky guy?" Michelangelo asked.

"Possibly. And it was Orcus, not Orcky.".

"I've heard that name a few times before. Who, or what, is he?" asked Sephie.

"He is a powerful demon, and he's also known as the Demon Prince of Undeath." Monalisa explained. "I've read about him in the scriptures of my order. As far as we know, he is imprisoned in the depths of the Abyss, though his powers can still bleed through into our plane of existence, either on its own or through his followers."

"I've read the same in the library in the Ancient One's temple." said Leonardo. "He's so powerful that he can be classified as a dark god. But he isn't really that interested in his followers' well-being, and don't care if they die, if he even notices them to begin with."

"And this lady worshipped him? Talk about bad choice of a god." said Raphael, as he started searching the woman's body.

"It seemed that she had been here a long time, possibly even since right before Wolswan was abandoned." said Donatello. "She might even have been an inhabitant of the village."

"Then I wouldn't be surprised if she is the reason the people left." said Sephie. "If people start going missing, I sure wouldn't want to stay. Wonder just how many more she was able to sacrifice."

"Whatever the case, the only things of worth she had on her are her sword and dagger. Not even a single coin on her, just like that Tiefling." said Raphael.

"We still got one path left to explore." said Leonardo. "Let's take a short break before we continue that way."

 **Another chapter down, and another bunch of monsters down. The team is doing pretty well, I might have to get more serious, or am I going too much DM then?**

 **Either way, Leonardo has seen something in Tyroth's eyes and understands why he is as he is. And with only one way left to explore, how will things turn out in the next chapter? Find out in... well... the next chapter.**

 **See you all soon.**

 **Oh, by the way, I'm looking for inspiration for a new character for this story, not a party member, but a supporting character to the party. Feel free to give suggestions on what race it should be. Here's a list to work with for those that don't know what's available, so you can google it if you want to.**

 **Aarakocra, Aasimar, Bugbear, Dragonborn, Dwarf (various kinds), Elf** **(various kinds), Firbolg, Genasi (Half-Genie), Gnome** **(various kinds), Goblin, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Halfling** **(various kinds), Hobgoblin, Human** **(various kinds), Kenku, Kobold, Lizardfolk, Orc, Tabaxi, Tiefling, Triton and Yuan-ti.**

 **Phew! That was a lot. Well, take your pick and leave it in a review or a PM to me.**

 **Now, for real, see you soon.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **A Fiendish Foe**

The party stayed in the altar room for a little over half an hour, allowing themselves to recover after the fight against the undead, and their wounds to heal. Once they felt that they were ready to continue, they headed back the way the came, all the way to the junction, where they only had one path left to check. And just like the other pathways, it had several traps obstructing their way, but Raphael easily found and disarmed them all.

After a walking down that path for a while longer, the group finally reached the end of it, and a large and heavy metal door blocked their path.

"No traps on this door." Raphael said after a quick examination. "It's locked however, but that shouldn't take long."

"Hold that thought for a while, Raph." said Donatello. "Let me take a closer look first, I don't really trust this door."

"What's the deal, Donnie?" Michelangelo asked.

"With how many traps we've found so far, I find it strange that this door, strong as it might be, doesn't have any traps at all. A quick Detect Magic spell should give us some answers."

A quick gesture and a simple word, and the door glowed with a faint aura, and even though only Donatello could see it, he didn't have to think long to figure out what it was.

"Just as I thought. A spell have been placed on this, from the Abjuration school, and I'm very certain I know what spell it is too. Glyph of Warding. If we trigger it, it unleash whatever spell upon us that is stored inside the glyph."

"So it's a magical trap? How do we get rid of that?" Sephie asked.

"The easiest way would be to trigger it, but that isn't desirable, but I can cast my Dispel Magic spell to, well, dispel it, though doing so will cost me my last third level spell slot. Still, if those who placed the Glyph wanted to get in and out here, there might be a way to get past it, a code or password, but on second thought, the spell could be tailored to allow them passage anyway."

"Wait a moment." Tyroth said. "Can you see what kind of effect we would be dealing with if we were to trigger the glyph?"

"I suppose I could, just give me a few minutes." Donatello said, studying the glyph further. "Okay, here is how it is. It's rigged with explosive runes, rather with another actual spell, and upon triggering it, the runes will explode with fire."

"Fire you say?" Tyroth said with a faint smirk. Then he walked up to the door, pushing aside those that were in his way.

"What?! No! Wait!" Donatello cried out, but it was too late and Tyroth kicked opened the door, breaking the lock and triggering the fiery explosion. But the flames didn't do any damage, for they were instantly swallowed by the Half-Dragon.

"There, problem solved." he said, small strings of smoke trailing from his mouth.

"Could you at least give us some warning next time?! All you gave me now was a heart attack!" Raphael yelled.

"At least the trap's dealt with." Monalisa sighed.

"True enough, but I don't think we should go in just yet." said Leonardo.

"Why is that?" asked Michelangelo. "I mean, the trap is gone, and the door is opened."

"I've been thinking, and I wonder what this catacomb is meant for. It's not built like a maze, so even though there have been a lot of traps, I would have expected something more to protect treasure. And then we had that ritual room, what is something like that even doing down here?"

"Good question." said Donatello. "The ritual room didn't look like it was originally meant for sacrifices like it was when we found it."

"So it has been corrupted somehow at some point." said Sephie. "That doesn't bode well. Do you think Orcus is involved?"

"Not impossible, but I think it might be something else. Give me a moment."

Leonardo closed his eyes, holding his holy symbol as he opened his senses. When he opened his eyes again, he had a grim look on his face.

"There is some form of fiend inside that room." he said.

"A fiend? Like a demon or devil?" said Monalisa and Leonardo nodded. "That makes things a lot more complicated. What can we do against a fiend?"

"Not a whole lot. Unless we can attack it with magic, we won't be able to do a whole lot, but even that is subject to what kind of fiend it is. Some might be resistant to spells as well, and other could be immune to certain kinds of elements, such as fire or lighting." said Donatello.

"So, what? Should we just head back the way we came?" said Michelangelo.

"I don't think we can, not now that we've opened the door." said Sephie.

"Then there is only one way to go." Leonardo said, drawing his sword. "Prepare yourselves, this could very well be the toughest fight any of us have ever experienced."

With everyone as ready as they could be, they pushed the door open and ventured inside. The room was large and circular, just like the altar room, but it lacked any form of interior decoration aside from many large braziers that formed a circle around the centre of the room. Despite that all the braziers were lit and illuminated the entire room, there was an area of compact darkness in the middle of the room, thirty feet in diameter.

"I don't like this." Tyroth snarled, glaring at the darkness. "I can see through darkness without problems, but this… I can't see anything."

"It must be magical in nature, like a Darkness spell." said Donatello. "But I think I can shed some light on this, so to speak."

Tapping the tip of his staff with a finger, the tip started shining with a bright, white light. Unlike the light from the braziers and torches, the Light spell managed to cut through the darkness, and what they saw in the middle of the dark sphere chilled their blood.

Sitting in the centre, was a large, muscular figure, easily nine feet tall despite sitting down, it had a horned canine head with a muzzle filled with sharp teeth. Two pair of arms grew from its broad torso, the lower being humanoid with hands, and the top most being far larger and monstrous, ending with large crab-like pincers. The skin was rust coloured and thick, covered in several large spiky growths, and the violet eyes were filled with authority as they gazed upon the reptiles.

" _So, someone has finally penetrated the darkness of this chamber."_ it said in the minds of the group, not even moving it's mouth, though it seemed to curl into a smile.

"Am I going nuts, or did you guys also here that in your heads?!" Michelangelo asked half terrified.

"You're already nuts, but yeah, I heard it too." said Raphael, gripping his daggers tightly.

"We all did." said Donatello. "It talks with telepathy, sending thoughts and information from its mind to ours."

" _Not many can reach this far down,"_ the entity continued. _"past all the traps that mortals have placed to prevent others from reaching me, to save my powers for themselves. But, it seems that you have done away with them, so now my powers are to your disposal. What is it that you desire? Wealth? Power? I can give it all to you."_

"For real?" Michelangelo asked.

"Don't listen to it! This is a fiend we're dealing with!" Leonardo cautioned.

" _No need to fear, I am sealed with in this room by powerful magic, and the same compels me to only speak the truth and use my power to aid those that rule this structure, in this case, that is you."_

"(Lies!)" Tyroth snarled in what sounded almost like an imitation of the barking of canines mixed with the buzzing of hornets, and the fiend seemed surprised. The others weren't sure what he said though, and were thus even more surprised. "(You live for temptations!)"

"(So you know Abyssal, and my kind it seems. Very well then, this charade was growing tiresome either way.)" the fiend responded in the same guttural language, rising to its feet, reaching an impressive height of fourteen feet. At the same time, the darkness dissipated, and the fiend flexed its muscles, showing off just how intimidating it really was.

"(You will replace my servants that you have slain, and I will be freed from this prison!)"

"(Death will be your only freedom!)" Tyroth roared before rushing into battle.

"I don't know what they said, but I think I get the meaning!" Raphael said.

"Same here, and I can't say that I disagree!" said Leonardo. "We have to destroy this fiend!"

Leonardo, Raphael and Monalisa quickly followed Tyroth into the battle, while Donatello, Michelangelo and Sephie circled around, keeping their distance from the demon.

As Tyroth came running at the demon, it only smirked, not concerned with the Half-Dragon incoming attacks. But as the fist connected with its abdomen, it felt a far sharper pain than it expected, involuntarily leaning forward a bit, just enough for Tyroth to deliver another powerful blow to its chin.

"(How?!)" it cried out in confusion. "(How can you hurt me so?!)"

* * *

Seeing an opening, Donatello and Michelangelo threw a few spells at the fiend, while Sephie shot two arrows at it. The arrows sunk into the flesh of the fiend, but didn't seem to do a lot of damage as they should do, much like what Donatello had said. A few flicks with his wrists, and Michelangelo watched his Magic Missiles speed through the air, striking the fiend in the back, while Donatello launched a Chromatic Orb at it, charged with acidic properties. The orb struck the back of the fiend, and the flesh sizzled as the skin was burned away.

* * *

Leonardo, Raphael and Monalisa all attacked the fiend with blades and fists, but just like Sephie's arrows, they didn't do much damage despite all strikes hitting. The fiend retaliated by taking a swipe with its large arms, forcing the others to back away, then it lashed out with one of the pincer arms, catching Tyroth in its massive claw and lifting him off the floor.

"(I don't know what you are, mortal, but you are still weak!)" the fiend taunted the Half-Dragon, clenching the pincer around his torso and arms.

"I am not weak!" Tyroth half yelled. Using all his strength, he was able to push back against the pincer claw, freeing himself from its grip. Before the fiend could react to the feat of strength, Tyroth unleashed his Fire Dragon Roar upon it, a torrent of flames, right into its face, causing great damage.

Staggering a bit from the flames, the fiend quickly recovered and barked something at Tyroth, which stunned him. That gave the fiend the opportunity to attack again, this time punching the Half-Dragon across the face with the smaller arms, seeing him as the bigger threat.

* * *

Leonardo saw how focused on Tyroth the fiend was, and he couldn't just stand by, but they were not doing nearly enough damage to have a chance of winning the fight. He needed an edge, and he knew how to get it. Channelling the divine powers granted to him by the Ancient One into his sword, making it glow brightly. Getting back into the fight, he poured even more power into the blade right before he slashed the fiend, this time doing a lot more damage than before, including the added Radiant power from his Divine Smite.

The fiend cried out in pain as the blade cut deep into its side, then it turned its glare upon Leonardo and grabbed him by the neck with its massive pincer. Leonardo grunted in pain while he tired to free himself from the grip, but despite stabbing his sword into the arm, the fiend kept its grip this time. But even though the fiend was holding its own against the party, it knew that they could overwhelm it, and so it cast a Darkness spell upon itself, creating another field of thick blackness that enveloped it and everyone fighting it in close combat. No one other than the fiend could see within the effect of the spell, which gave it a huge advantage, as not even those outside the field could attack without risking injuring their comrades.

* * *

Sephie gritted her teeth in annoyance as the darkness obscured her view, but she wouldn't allow that to stop her. Creating a magical arrow of green energy in her hand, she readied it and closed her eyes, focusing on the memory of the fiend, how she had seen it just recently. Seeing the fiend in her mind, she aimed the bow straight upward and released the arrow.

It changed its own trajectory and sped towards the darkness. A split second later, she heard how the fiend cried out in pain, and the darkness vanished as the fiend lost its concentration on the spell, but that was to be expected, since the arrow had pierced its left eye.

The Seeking Arrow had done its job, and Sephie couldn't help but smile as she readied another arrow and shot it into the chest of the fiend. Seeing an opening, Raphael didn't let it go to waste, jumping and driving both daggers into the arm which held Leonardo, causing enough damage to force the fiend to drop the Turtle. Monalisa followed up with a few attacks of her own, plucking a couple of the feathers from her belt, revealing them to be the plums of inch longs needles. She threw them at the face of the fiend, aiming for its other eye, but with how the fiend moved, she only hit the surrounding face, but that didn't stop her from striking against the right knee with two well placed kicks as it was distracted.

* * *

Looking at the fiend, and then at his friends, Michelangelo wasn't sure of what he should do. He had almost exhausted all of his spells, save for his smaller cantrips, which he could use as much as he wanted, but they were generally weaker than the higher level spells. On the other hand, his cantrips didn't have the risk of triggering a Wild Magic Surge, and he had no idea of what could happen.

Deciding that he had to go all out, he opted to go for another Magic Missile, rather than Erupting Earth, since he didn't want to get his friends caught in the area of effect. Charging the spell through a higher level slot gave it more power than normal, and an extra projectile was created alongside the normal three, all of them striking the fiend all over its body.

Michelangelo was about to cheer on himself, but stopped when he noticed that rather than words, pink bubbles came out of his mouth.

* * *

The damage stated to pile up, and the fiend felt that its existence might be threatened. The reptiles were just too many, and even if most of their attacks were ineffective, there were a lot of them, and many attacks that actually did full damage as well. The fiend just didn't have the means to deal with so many without the assistance of its undead servants, which the party had already dealt with.

Seeking an alternative approach, it cast another spell, Confusion, against Leonardo, Raphael and Monalisa. They could feel how the magic flowed over their minds, their thoughts becoming muddled and erratic, not really capable of making rational decisions or telling friend from foe.

Raphael and Monalisa began trading blows with each other, while Leonardo wandered around aimlessly. The fiend smirked as half of the party was incapacitated, but that smirk faded quickly when he felt another magic force enter his spell, only for the Confusion spell to completely disperse. Growling, it looked at Donatello, who had his hand raised against the fiend, having used Dispel Magic on the Confusion. At once, the three reptiles came to their senses, and turned their attention back to the fiend. As more arrows struck the fiend, it understood that it's chances were growing slimmer, yet it was trapped in the chamber, so it couldn't escape anywhere.

Other than upward.

Casting the Fly spell on itself, and flying up as high as the ceiling would allow, the thirty feet it gained was more than enough to keep it away from melee attacks, while it could swoop down and pick off those with ranged attacks, bringing them up with it, crushing them and then take down the rest the same way.

A sound plan, but one that was quickly foiled, for Tyroth had recovered from the stunning force that had hit him. Jumping into the air, spreading and flapping his wings, he flew right up to the fiend. A burning fist connected with the fiend's face, breaking both its concentration on the spell, and its jaw. With the effect of the spell gone, the fiend fell back to the floor, hitting it with a resounding thud.

It was on weak and wobbly legs that the fiend tried to get back up, only to come face to face with Leonardo, who stood before the fiend, his weapon still glowing with divine energy. Weakened and groggy, the fiend couldn't do anything to avoid its fate, as Leonardo decapitated it with a single slash, ending the battle.

"Everyone alright?" he asked once he was certain that the fiend was dead.

Michelangelo tried to answer, but he still could only produce pink bubbles rather than words.

"Another surge, I take it?" Sephie asked.

"Yep, and it's one of my favourites." Raphael said with a smirk. "Keeps him quiet. A shame that it doesn't last very long."

"Again, is everyone alright?" Leonardo asked again.

"Only some cuts and bruises, nothing that time won't heal." said Tyroth, even though he was the one who looked the worst out of the seven.

"Are you sure you don't want me to heal you? In case something else happens."

"I'll be fine."

"Well if he's sure, then I guess we're all okay. Just a bit roughed up." said Monalisa, looking over the cuts she had received during the confusion.

"And that's pretty good considering what we just fought." said Donatello. "For unless I am mistaken, this was a Glabrezu."

"Bless you." Michelangelo said, finally able to speak again, though a few small bubbles still floated out of his mouth.

"Glabrezu. GLaB-re-Zoo. A demon of the middle tier I believe. They are no pushovers, so the fact that we got out of this in good condition speaks well about us. Just let me take down some notes on it, and we can investigate this place."

"What are you doing with all these notes you're writing?" Monalisa asked.

"Research, future references." Donatello answered, digging out his writing tools and book from his bag. "The more I can learn about these kinds of creatures, the better our possible next encounter will hopefully go. Perhaps I can even publish my notes to help others in the future as well. Now, please don't disturb me for a while, I'm working from memory as well."

 **Now that was a foe, the Glabrezu. The team really had to work to bring it down, but they are still alive, so they're doing quite well so far.**

 **But what kind of treasure was the map pointing to? So far, all they have found are monsters, undead and a demon. Find out next time if there is anything in that last room.**

 **Also, still searching for a new supporting character. Got any ideas, give me a holler. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **X Marks the Spot**

After Donatello had finished taking notes on the Glabrezu, and the group had had some time to recover from the battle, they started investigating the room closely. The first thing that they discovered was that there were glyphs of some sort carved into the floor, forming a circle together with the braziers, that they had missed earlier, and there were more in the centre as well, where the demon was sitting when they found it.

"Looks like the demon was at least partially telling the truth." Tyroth said as he ran his fingers along the glyphs. "It was magically sealed inside the room. I'm guessing that someone summoned it in here."

"And then something went horribly wrong." said Sephie. "But I wonder just what."

"Hey! I found something over here!" Michelangelo yelled from the far end of the room, opposite of the entrance.

Once the party had gathered by Michelangelo's side, they all saw that a tunnel had been dug through the wall and into the rock. The tunnel seemed to be very deep, but there were no earth, stone or other debris near the entrance to it, which meant that it had to be somewhere deeper inside the tunnel.

"Guess we only got one way to figure out where this leads." said Donatello as he placed another Light spell on his staff and lead the others into the tunnel. Raphael walked right in front of him, using the light to keep his eyes open for any traps.

A couple of minutes later, they reached a natural cavern. It was only some forty feet across, but other than a large and thick natural stone bridge, there was only a large chasm in the cave, and it seemed almost bottomless. They didn't need many guesses of where the debris from digging the tunnel ended up.

Using the bridge to cross the chasm, they found another tunnel, though this one was far shorter and ended in another cavern. Unlike the cavern with the chasm, this one had been dug out together with the tunnel, and its contents was of great interest to the party.

The light reflected upon the surfaces of literal thousands of coins of copper, silver and gold, all in a single large pile. Goblets, plates, silverwares, gems and jewellery were also plentiful, dotting the pile of coins, and that was not counting the two large, wooden chests that stood behind the pile of treasure.

"Guys, we just hit the mother-lode!" said Raphael when they saw the troves of treasure.

"We're rich! We're rich! We're filthy rich!" Michelangelo cheered.

"This must be what the map was pointing to." said Monalisa, taking a handful of coins and letting them drop back into the pile. "But if there is this much coin and stuff on the floor, what could be in the chests?"

"Let's find out." said Raphael, and walked over to the first chest.

It wasn't locked or trapped, so it was easy enough to open, but what was inside it confused the Turtle. Five leather bags with long straps and closable flaps, three of which were normal brown leather, one was a brighter colour, and the last was very dark, all were of good quality. Aside from the bags, the was only a leather-bound book left, basically leaving the chest completely empty.

"Is this a joke?! Just a couple of bags?! Where's the gold?!"

"Hold on, Raph. Let me have a look at them." said Donatello, examining one of the bags, then another and another, until he had checked them all. "As far as I'm concerned, these bags are actually the greater treasure here."

"What are you talking about, Donatello?" Leonardo asked. "Are they magical?"

"Correct. Allow me to demonstrate."

Tapping the wall and placing a light spell on that spot, extinguishing the one on his staff, Donatello took one of the bags, opened it and inserted his entire staff and his arm into it, despite that the bag wasn't large enough in any way.

"What the?! Did you just loose your arm?!" Michelangelo exclaimed.

"No need to worry, Mikey." said Donatello, pulling out his arm and staff again. "These are Bags of Holding, we can store large amounts of items inside of them, far greater than what their measurements would allow, and that is thanks to an enchantment that creates an extra-dimensional storage space. On average, a bag can hold five hundred pounds of content, without weighing more than it does now, but it can't hold more than sixty four cubic feet in volume, so keep that in mind."

"What luck! That will make carrying all the treasure a lot easier." said Sephie, picking up on of the bags.

"Yeah, but just make sure that you don't put one bag inside another bag, or any other item with a similar extra-dimensional space, or the other way around."

"Oh yeah? What happens if you do?" Michelangelo asked, picking up two bags, both of which Raphael quickly snatched from his hands.

"If you were to do that, both items would be destroyed as a portal to a random place on the Astral Plane would open and suck in anything and anyone within ten feet of where the items were, possibly never to be seen again. But you would have to be really stupid to try that knowing that."

"Um, yeah… who would be stupid enough to do that?" Michelangelo said sheepishly, gaining a stern look from Raphael as he brought the bags even farther away from him.

"What about the book?" Tyroth asked.

"Let's see." Donatello said, picking up the book, and flicking through the pages. "Seems to be a journal of some sort, rather old too. I'll take a closer look in a little while. We still got one chest left."

"Indeed. Let's see what we find in this one." Leonardo said as he carefully opened the last chest.

Unlike the first chest, this was almost filled to the brim with swords, daggers, maces, axes, robes, armour pieces and various other items.

"This… was a lot more than I thought." Leonardo said before turning back to Donatello. "Think you can check if any of these things are magical?"

"Easy enough, just give me a moment." With a quick gesture, Donatello felt how a few of the items in the chest vibrated with magical energies, and he quickly and carefully picked them out from the other items.

Placing them on the floor, the others could see a dagger, a leather-wrapped decanter, a metal rod, a quiver, a robe, a hat and a wand.

The dagger was slightly more elegant than a run of the mill dagger, with the cross-guard being wider and shaped as a pair of small, feathered wings.

The leather around the decanter had a flourishing pattern engraved into it, and there was a cork in it, tied to the decanter with a thin leather-band. As Donatello had picked it up, he could hear the sloshing of water of similar liquid inside it.

The rod looked rather simple, being just over a foot long and just under an inch thick. Each of the ends had smooth handles, one of which had a button on the tip.

The quiver was mostly green with silver details, and the inside was split into three compartments, one large and two smaller ones.

The robe was a simple one of brown clothe, and it was covered in dozens of patches with various images.

The hat was also simple, but effort had been made to make it look more slightly exquisite. It was coloured red and had two red feathers.

And finally, the wand was bronze in colour and made from two pieces of metal twisted together.

"This is what we got in terms of magical items." Donatello said.

"Hold up. There is something behind this chest." said Monalisa. Reaching in behind the chest, she found a smaller wooden box, square and almost a foot long, which she brought to the others. Carefully opening it, they found dozens of small vials containing deep red liquid, each labelled with fine writing, the same of which they found more on several parchments in the box as well.

"Looks like elven writing." said Monalisa, handing one of the parchments to Sephie. "I believe that you said you can read elven, right?"

"I can, just give me a second." Sephie responded, investigating the parchment. "Looks like some form of research notes, alchemical I guess. They seem to refer to the 'essence of beasts', whatever that means."

"Probably something connected to these potions." said Donatello. "I would love to examine all this closer, once all the notes are translated. But I actually know someone back in Cardena that can help us with both the potions and the magical items."

"Help us how?" asked Leonardo.

"Well, the way I see it, we got three options for identifying their effects, at least the items. One; I could use my Identify spell, but right now I'm a bit drained, so that would have to be on the way back whenever we make camp. Two; we can try examine them closer and experiment with them, hopefully figuring out what they do through trial and error. Or three; we take them to this guy I know and let him do it all for us."

"That last one sounds expensive." said Raphael. "And the second option sounds dangerous."

"True, and also true. But my friend is a good guy, he deals in magic and he could use the business. And letting him check it out would leave me with all my spell slots in case we need them for something else on the way home. Besides, look at all the coin. Even a quarter of it split between the seven of us is enough to cover what we paid for the supplies and still afford us some improvements back home."

"If you think that we should take the items to your friend, Donatello, then that is what we'll do." said Leonardo. "All we need to do now then, is to get all of this with us. Let's put as much as we can in the Bags of Holding, and the rest in the chests, together with the magical items."

"I think we can build some simple sleds to drag the chests on." said Sephie. "I've helped make those back with my foster family. They should help us a bit."

"If the rest of you do that, I would like to go through this journal." said Donatello. "I think it might hold some answers for us."

"You do that, we'll deal with this." said Leonardo. "And once we get back home, we can start dividing the riches equally between us."

* * *

Said and done, the team started gathering the treasures they had earned, placing the box of potions, together with as much of the coin and valuable items, in the five Bags of Holding as they could, and the rest in the empty chest, while they placed the magical items back in the other chest. Once they were done, they carried the chests back out of the cave, catacomb and keep, all the way to the inn.

By that time, the sun had almost set, so they decided to stay at their base for the night. As the others prepared for the night, making dinner included, Donatello kept reading in the journal.

"Well, this was interesting."

"What was? You figure something out from that book?" Raphael asked.

"Like what happened to the village?" Sephie added.

"More or less. This journal belonged to the Red Circle mage, Fronak Gostull, and it seems that he had done a lot of investigating regarding the fate of the village as well. Whether he was right or not, I can't tell, but it does seem to add up for the most part."

"Can you give us the short version? I don't think I can handle a long version." said Michelangelo.

"Sure." Donatello said, clearing his throat. "Well, as I said, it's mostly his theories, and I have some of my own regarding them. It seems that he used some form of ritual spell to gleam into the past, getting glimpses of what might have happened. If that's true, then someone within the keep, an officer or similar, had ulterior motives, and had the catacombs constructed."

"And people were okay with that?" asked Monalisa.

"Apparently, this individual kept the truth from the others. While they thought it was part of some form of defence, it was in fact meant to aid in summoning and shackling a creature from another plane, most likely the Demon we fought. But something went wrong, and while the demon was trapped in that chamber, it was still able to influence people outside of it, maybe not at first, but eventually."

"Bet this person was after power for personal gain." Tyroth growled. "They summon a creature they can't control, thinking that they are in charge of it, and then the tables turn, without them knowing more often than not. That's usually how these things go."

"That's what I think too. And my theory is that the undead woman we fought was the one responsible for all this, she did seem like she was in command. Fronak's notes further tell about villagers going missing as the years went on, which points to most of the garrison being either deceived or corrupted as well, as nothing was done about it. Eventually, Wolswan was abandoned as the people feared for the safety, and no one spoke of it afterwards it seems. My guess is that those who disappeared were sacrificed in that altar room, probably to Orcus, or the Demon, who might have claimed to be Orcus or his herald, something like that."

"That does feel like it makes sense." said Leonardo. "And then Wolswan was left undisturbed until this Fronak showed up, and later, we."

"Pretty much, but not entirely. Evidently there were other adventurers that found their way here before that. And here is where things get really interesting. Fronak writes about seeing visions of the dead adventurers being stripped of their valuables by the undead, before being left for someone to find at a later date, much like a bait. Others seemed like they fell under the power of the Demon, and gave their stuff to it as well, before being kill and left like the others. Once new prey had been acquired, they replaced the old bait."

"So all the riches we found were not from the village itself, but from those that found this place before us as well. That explains why there were so many Bags of Holding, they are very useful when travelling." said Sephie. "But was Fronak left as a bait as well then?"

"I think so. And at the end of the journal, his notes gets stranger, mentioning that he did things he didn't want to, including making a map with a hidden message that he then sent away with a spell. And nowhere is it mentioned that he was injured at any point, so I think that he was being controlled in some way, to lure in more prey, just like those before him."

"And we were able to overcome all this, finally putting an end to it. We were in far over our heads without even knowing it." said Leonardo, seemingly deep in thought.

"If you ask me, that makes us badass!" said Michelangelo with pride. "By the way, is food done yet?"

"Soup should be done in just a little bit." Sephie answered.

* * *

The next day, Sephie used what wood they could scavenge from the old houses and built two simple sleds that they placed the chests on. With Tyroth pulling one and the others taking turns with the second, the party made their way back to Cardena, the week long trip ahead of them being easy compared to the adventure they had had in just half a day.

 **Now that is some treasure! Lots of gold and more, not to mention the magical items, some of which those familiar with DnD might recognize, even if they might be slightly different in appearance.**

 **But now the adventure is almost at an end. What will happen once they get back to Cardena?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Return to Cardena**

The way back to Cardena was long and uneventful, quite unlike the stay in Wolswan, but on the seventh day the party finally sighted the city off in the distance.

As they entered the city, all eyes were upon them, both from the townsfolk and the guards. Just the fact that they were dragging two sleds with a chest on each of them was enough to attract attention, but what really caught their eyes was the Red Half-Dragon that accompanied the other reptiles. People stopped what they were doing, some whispered among themselves, and children was brought indoors. The guards in particular kept a close eye on him as the party made their way through the city, and this didn't go unnoticed by the Turtles and Lizards.

"You weren't kidding when you said that Half-Dragons have a bad reputation." Michelangelo whispered to Donatello.

"And sadly, it's not all unjustified. Like I said, most chromatic Half-Dragons have been evil, and that has tarnished the reputation of them all."

"That's not fair. You can't judge an entire people based on what some have done." said Sephie, looking over her shoulder at Tyroth. "Tyroth may not be the friendliest person I've met, but he's not evil in any way. And I'm sure that once he opens up a bit, he'll be a great friend to those close to him."

"I agree with you, Sephie." said Leonardo. "But it will take time before people can look past their prejudices and see him for what... for who he really is. But for now, we'll deal with our findings, and see where we stand after that."

"So how will we do with the treasure then?" Michelangelo asked loud enough for all of the party to hear.

"First, we'll get the special items identified and valued, then we'll split everything evenly. If anyone wants any of the magical items, they can trade coin for them instead, as long as everyone is okay with it. I'm sure that we can work it out."

"Sounds good and fair." said Monalisa. "Is it far left to this friend of yours, Donatello?"

"Not at all, he has his shop only a few minutes from the central marketplace, in the north part of Cardena."

"Glad to hear it. I'm sure that I've been pulling this thing way over my turn by now." Raphael complained.

* * *

Like Donatello said, it only took a few minutes before the party reached the place. It was a large two-story, wooden building that looked like it was in need of some repairs, and several windows were boarded over.

Entering through the front door, they found themselves in a surprisingly small room considering the size of the building, barely large enough to fit them all inside at once, chests included, but they managed.

The walls had a few shelves with a small number of various items befitting someone practising the arcane arts, jars with unknown contents, books, scrolls and more. In the far back of the room was a door, but it was blocked by a table with more stuff on it. Also sitting on the table, was a completely black cat with yellow eyes, and it eyed the party with indifference.

"Welcome to Salem's Emporium. I'm Salem, and this is my Emporium." the cat said with a male voice.

"Did the cat just talk?" Michelangelo asked with wide eyes.

"'Did the cat just talk?'" the cat mimicked in a mocking voice. "No, it's the dementia setting in! Yes, I can talk, and I'm proud of it."

"Guys, this is the friend I was talking about, Salem Saberhagen." Donatello said, stepping forward. "If there was anything I wanted to know about magic, this was the place were I most often would find the answers."

"And you came here very often too." said Salem. "Nice to see you again, Donnie boy. How's the magic?"

"Pretty good, thank you, but this time I brought some business for you."

"Finally, someone that doesn't want a love potion or a cure for pimples. You wouldn't believe how many of those I have to deal with."

"Really? How many?" asked Sephie."

"Um… none." Salem said a bit disappointed. "B-but that's beside the point! Let me see what you got for me."

"We found these items during an expedition, and we'd like to know what kind of enchantments that are on them." Donatello explained.

"Easy enough, just place them on the table here, and I'll have a look. And the standard fee of fifteen gold a piece still applies to you as well."

After the party had placed the items on the table, Salem gave each of them a long stare, finally blinking a few times and turning back to the team.

"Okay, this is how it is." he said, placing a paw on the dagger. "This here, is a Dagger of Warning. Whoever that carries this will always sleep soundly, as it will magically awaken the owner and friends the moment something hostile towards them gets within a certain distance.

Moving on, this bottle-thing here, is a Decanter of Endless Water. If you remove the stopper and say either 'stream', 'fountain', or 'geyser', it will create water. It can be fresh or salt water, your choice, and the word used determines how much water. Useful if you need a quick bath.

Next, this rod is what's known as an Immovable Rod. See this button on the end here? When you press it, the rod will become fixated wherever it is at that time, and can't be moved until the button is pressed again, unless you somehow put over eight thousand pounds on it, in that case, it will just drop to the ground like a stick.

The quiver here is an Efficient Quiver. It works similar to a Bag of Holding, only on a smaller scale. They designed it so that you can keep a lot of arrows in one compartment, a decent number of javelins in another, and a few bows or spears in the largest one. Very handy if you like the bow.

Next, we have this robe, and other than being a fashion disaster, it's a Robe of Useful items. Just rip off a patch from it, and you'll get whatever that's on that patch. For example, if you pull off this rope patch, you'll get a rope. But, once you've taken all the patches, all you'll be left with, is a normal robe, and only slightly more fashionable.

This is the funny part, for this wand here, is a Wand of Identification. It can do just what just did, identifying magical items, only for free. Just point it at what you want to identify, say 'what?', and presto! You know what it does. It can only do so five times a day, having that many charges for the magic, and it will recover all of them every dawn, or the equivalent time of a day. But if you use up all the charges, there is a risk that the wand will turn to dust and be destroyed.

And finally, the Hat of Disguise, it can cast an illusion to allow the wearer to appear as another humanoid, plus minus a foot in height if desired. But it's just an illusion, if any touches you, they will feel the real you behind it. It also have one more restriction, the illusionary form must have the same base body form that you have. So if the… lovely ladies over there used it, their illusion must have a tail as well, while that big guy in the back would have to use a form with both tail and wings. So keep that in mind.

Let's see… that was seven items, and at fifteen gold a piece that's… one hundred and five gold."

"How could you tell what they did just from looking at them?" Leonardo asked.

"It's one of the few benefits that I've been 'blessed' with as a cat. Now, about my payment."

"Actually, we got one more thing. Or rather, a few more things." said Donatello, bringing up the box with the potions, placing it on the table and opening it, revealing the potions and notes. "The notes are in elven, and refer to the potions as 'essence of beasts'. Know anything about that?"

"Hmm… interesting…" Salem said, looking long at the potions and reading the notes. "Well, this is a real find. Essence of beasts is a very accurate name for these, because that's just what they are."

"And what does that mean?" asked Monalisa.

"In short, they're meant to bestow the abilities of various animals to whoever drinks them. They were like the prototypes to the more modern potions used during the last thousand years or so."

"So they are over a thousand years old?" Michelangelo asked.

"Not necessary. More likely than not, someone was able to recreate them from ancient notes. Regardless, they probably have the same… issues as the original ones."

"Issues? What kind of issues?" Leonardo asked.

"Well, the effect didn't always, well, take effect. And if it did, you never really knew for how long it would last. An hour, a day, or even for life, it was all up to chance. And then there were the risk of… um, spontaneous mutations."

"I don't like the sound of that." said Sephie.

"Yeah, well, I guess they got a bit too much essence in their potions, but the fact remains that those drinking these, risk taking on some characteristics of the animal used for the potion. For example, take this Essence of Bovine, that's bulls and cows for those that don't know, if you drink it, you might get stronger, and you might also become more bovine yourself. Might grow horns or a tail, possibly an udder if you're a woman, your feet could become cloven hooves, and so one. Usually, it's just one change per potion, if any, though there could be more, and like the desired effect of the potion, it might persist for different long times, might even become permanent as well."

"Those potions sounds like a real gamble." said Raphael. "Is there any way to get rid of those side effects?"

"Avoid drinking the potions if you don't want to risk it would be the best way. But if you do drink it, I guess a Greater Restoration spell should do the trick, but it would also take away any benefit from the potion as well.

Now, you got twenty four potions here. Two Bovine for strength, three Cat for dexterity, two Horse for constitution, two Fox for cunning and hearing, two Owl for wisdom and night-vision, two Wolf for leadership, the alpha wolf you see, three Eagle for flight and great vision, two Shark for breathing under water and swimming, two Spider for climbing walls, two Lizard for quicker healing, and two Mantis for greater reaction."

"Can we get that written down instead?" Michelangelo asked, not having followed.

"Don't worry, Mikey. I'm already done with that." said Donatello, closing his notebook.

"Of course you did."

"Now, about my payment, again." said Salem. "I'll give you a discount on the potions, since it's a large group, so one hundred and fifty gold for all of my services should be enough."

"I'm okay with that." said Leonardo and fished up the coins from the bag of holding he was carrying.

"Okay, now what?" said Sephie. "We just split up the treasure and all head our different ways after that?"

"Pretty much, I suppose." said Donatello. "We'll just figure out just how much everything is worth and then split it equally, just like we agreed on."

"Do we really have to split up? Near-death experiences aside, these last weeks have been a blast for me." said Michelangelo. "I don't want to loose our new friends."

"And where are we going to keep them, huh?" said Raphael. "The shack is just barely big enough for the four of us, and it really needs to be repaired."

"Actually, Raphael." Leonardo began. "I was thinking that maybe we should move out from the shack, use some of the riches we've gotten to buy us a new, better home."

"Now listen here-" Raphael said, very aggressive.

"Sorry for interrupting…" Salem cut in. "But if I'm hearing this right, you're looking for a new place to stay, am I right? Well, I might have a proposition for you."

"For real?" Michelangelo asked. "Will it cost us anything?"

"Most likely, but you won't be paying me. Allow me to show you. Um… could someone please move this table so we can reach the door? I can't really do it myself since, you know, I'm a cat."

Jumping down from the table, Salem allowed Raphael and Leonardo to move the table aside, after collecting all their items again. Opening the door, the team walked inside together with the talking cat, and found a large hall with a bar-counter in the back, together with two doors, one on the wall behind the counter, and one on the wall to the right. There were also two doors on the same wall that they walked in through, one on each side, as well as a staircase in the middle of the hall, leading up to a second floor. Just like the outside, it was in need of repairs, but not nearly as badly.

"What is this place?" Sephie asked.

"I think it used to be a tavern or inn of some sort." Salem explained. "But they kind of condemned it some twenty years ago. I think there was some mass murder, or maybe it was cursed or something. Either way, no one has used this place for very long after that, and it stood empty for several years before I came along."

"Aren't you worried that it might be cursed then?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

"Maybe I would, but I'm already cursed, so how much worse could it be? Don't answer that, and it's a long story." Salem said, adding the last part quickly. "Anyway, since no one else wants to be here, I could rent the place dirt-cheap. Well, the entry-hall at least. But if you went and talked to the jarl, I'm sure he could either let you rent the rest of it, or even buy it all, take it off his hands, and settle in here. You got lots of rooms upstairs, a kitchen and larder behind the counter, a cellar, two extra rooms flanking the entry-hall, and a large garden with a high fence. Not too bad, if you ask me."

"And what do you get out of this?" Raphael asked, feeling highly doubtful about the whole offer.

"Well, if you do get this place, all I ask is this:" Salem said, then he fell flat on his stomach, looking up at the party with his front paws pressed against each other as if begging. "Please don't throw me out on the street! You don't know how rough the streets are for a poor cat like me! I can move my shop into one of the side rooms, and we can split the profit. Eighty twenty."

Leonardo walked into the middle of the hall, looking around, seemingly deep in thought.

"What do you think, Donatello? Is it doable?" he asked.

"Turning this into a home, you mean? Hmm, yeah, yeah I think it is. Repairing the place will take some time and coin, but I'm sure we can do it. Just need to talk with the jarl first, get all the papers in order, if she agrees on it that is."

"Hold on. 'She'?" said Monalisa, then turning to Salem, who now sat normally on the floor. "Didn't you say 'he'?"

"Hey, I don't really know much about the politics around here. He, she, it. What does it matter? I'm not in charge anyway."

"The jarl of Cardena is a woman, Astrid Snowstorm." Donatello explained. "She inherited the position after her father, Egil Snowstorm, was killed fighting a giant seventeen years ago. She's been doing a good job since then, even though she was quite young back then."

"How do you know all this?" Raphael asked, looking questioning at his brother.

"Studies, dear brother. You should try it some time." Donatello replied dryly.

"Sounds boring if you ask me." said Michelangelo.

"So what you do say about this, guys?" Leonardo asked the group. "Should we try and build a new life here together?"

"Tempting, but isn't this place a little big just to live in?" said Sephie.

"It is a bit big, sure. But, I got an idea." said Salem. "You could not only live here, but also work here. You guys seems like an experienced and versatile bunch, why not turn this place into a business or guild? Have people come here and hire your services, and mine."

"That sounds like a cool idea. I'm in!" said Michelangelo.

"Why not? I've been living most of my life with Elves in the deep forests, but it would be nice to feel how it's like in a city." said Sephie.

"I agree." said Monalisa. "The monks that raised me were rather cut off from the rest of civilisation, but I've often wondered how a life there would be. If the jarl will let us buy this place, I wouldn't mind moving in here. And since all of you are the only ones I know here, at the very least I would be in good company."

Seeing that the others were positive to the idea, Raphael thought about it and turned to Leonardo.

"So, you're really staying then? And you'll keep helping?" he asked.

"That was my intentions from the start, Raphael, and I still stand for that decision."

"Well, I'll be honest with you then. It won't make things the way they used to be, but I guess… I guess it's a step in the right direction at least. Thank you."

"Thank you for giving me another chance." Leonardo said and shook Raphael's hand.

That left only one individual, which they all then looked at. Tyroth was still standing in the doorway, arms crossed and leaning his back against the door-frame.

"Are you staying too?" Sephie asked hopefully.

"Don't see why I should." he scoffed. "People and I don't really get along. Just give me my cut, and I'll hit the road again."

"You don't have to leave." Leonardo said, walking up to him. "If you really want to, then we won't stop you, but at least take a while to consider it."

"Look, I won't deny that we worked well together, and I would probably not have been able to deal with Wolswan on my own, so I thank you for that. But you've already seen how people react to me, and you were the same. I don't belong here, that's just how it is."

"Maybe, but that isn't how it has to be. I like to believe that everyone deserves a second chance, and right now, we're offering you one. I know that something truly terrible happened to you in the past, I may not know what, but you don't have to be alone because of that, or because of what you are. And as you said, we worked well together, and we could do a lot more good if we stay together. If you really want to leave, know that there will always be a place here for you."

"Please, won't you stay?" Sephie added.

Tyroth looked at the group with a confused look upon his face, then he just shook his head and chuckled.

"You're really serious about this offer, aren't you? Fine, I'll stick around for a while then if you really want me to. I've been out and about for far too long now anyway." he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's awesome!" Michelangelo cheered. "The team of seven remains!"

"And the cat makes eight! Yeah, baby!" Salem joined in.

 **And the team is back in town! With a lot of magical items to boot, all of which have now been identified. The wand is just a little custom of mine, but by the same principle as pretty much all wands, just add a spell.**

 **The potions are also a work of mine, and whether the team uses them, well, that remains to be seen. As are the consequences that may or may not follow the use of those potions.**

 **Also, for those that don't know, the talking cat Salem Saberhagen, is a direct rip from the 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' series, specifically the live-action show from 1996. He was basically the star of the show, despite only being a comical relief character. Let's hope that he won't steal too much of this story.**

 **See you later on! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **A New Beginning**

The group of seven reptiles and one cat walked through the old inn, Donatello taking notes on all that needed repairs, what they needed to buy for those repairs and various other items such as furniture, all while making rough estimates of how much it would cost them. If they were to turn the old inn not only into a home, but also a business, they had a lot of work ahead of them, if the jarl would allow them to purchase the place, or at least rent it.

"So, how does it look, Donatello?" Leonardo asked.

"We got a lot of work ahead of us. I think all the repairs and new furniture will cost us roughly ten thousand gold. Luckily, I've counted and valued the riches we found, and we got sixteen thousand four hundred and fifty nine gold in it all, not counting the magical items."

"That means we will have to spend almost two thirds of it on this place." said Sephie, looking around and trying to visualise the work ahead.

"Yeah, but that doesn't include whatever we will have to pay the jarl for this place. But as it is pretty run down, I can't imagine she would demand too much for it."

"Still, it will cost us, and we will also have to have her permission to establish our business as an adventure party for hire here as well." said Leonardo. "Donatello and I will go and seek an audience with her regarding all of it shortly. The rest of you can wait here until we return."

"Sounds good to me." said Michelangelo. "I want to scope out the bedrooms again, see where I want to place my trunk."

"I guess there is no harm in picking out a room." said Sephie. "I'm sure that the jarl would love to make some money on this place, so she should let us buy or rent it."

"Take your time. We'll go over this a bit more before we leave." said Donatello. "Double check the supporting pillars and beams, as well as the foundation."

Most of the group thus headed upstairs, checking out the various rooms that the upper floor held. There was a total of sixteen rooms, eight along each length of the floor, and all of them had the same layout, being square with a small round window. Once, they all had a bed with a nightstand, and a small chest or box at the end of the bed, as well as a small table and chair on the opposite side. But now, most rooms were close to empty, the majority of the furniture that remained was old and worn, and the windows were mostly boarded over.

Walking into one of the rooms, Sephie found that Monalisa was already there.

"Oh, I didn't think you were in this room too." Sephie said, causing Monalisa to look over at her.

"It's okay, Sephie. I'm just trying to get a feel of the room."

"So you haven't decided yet?" Sephie asked, stepping inside. "Better make up your mind quickly, or the others might call dibs on the room you would want. I think Mikey already took the one to the far left on this side."

"Has he now? Well, I can't say that I'm surprised." Monalisa said with a smile.

"Same here." Sephie giggled. "Well, if you want this room, then be my guest. I can take any other room that's available."

Sephie then turned to leave, but stopped and turned back to Monalisa again.

"Is something the matter?" Monalisa asked.

"I just realised something. We've been working together for over two weeks now, and we'll keep doing that for quite some time more once this place is ours, but I don't even know your full name."

"No?" Monalisa said, thinking about it for a moment. "You're right, we never properly introduced ourselves. Raphael introduced me, and Leonardo you, and that was that at the moment."

"Yeah. And it doesn't really matter, I mean, I won't think any different about you either way, but it would still be fun to know."

"I know what you mean, and I don't mind." Monalisa said, walking closer to Sephie and offering her hand. "I am Monalisa of Clan Freeheart."

But Sephie didn't take Monalisa's hand, she just stared at her, trembling with her eyes wide and her mouth slightly ajar. For a moment, Sephie's eyes seemed to study Monalisa's face, looking for something.

"Sephie? Is something wrong?" Monalisa asked, feeling very concerned. Suddenly, Sephie threw her arms around Monalisa, holding her tight while Monalisa felt something wet against the side of her neck.

"I can't believe it…" Sephie sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I thought I would never see you again… but it is you… it really is you…"

"What? What are you talking about? Do I know you since before?"

"Of course you do." Sephie said, partially breaking the embrace, but still keeping her arms around Monalisa. Now she could see the overjoyed look on Sephie's face, as well as the tears in her eyes and those rolling down her cheeks. "Don't you understand? I'm also of Clan Freeheart. Sephie of Clan Freeheart."

"You are?! But… I thought everyone died during the attack…" A few tears started to form in Monalisa's eyes as well. "Wait… 'Sephie'… there was only one Sephie in our clan… are you saying…?"

"Yes! We're not just of the same clan… we're of the same blood too, we're sisters!"

"Gods… is it really true? Is it really you?" Monalisa asked, a few tears now falling.

"It is! I promise! Remember how mother always used to braid our hair after we had bathed? One braid on the right side and three..."

"… and three smaller braids on the left." Monalisa sobbed, but with a smile. Then she pulled Sephie back into a close hug, tears now falling from the eyes of both girls. "I never thought I would find you again… I thought you died with all the others…"

"And I though the same about you…"

The two lizards stood silent for a while, gently crying onto each others shoulders as they felt that a wound sustained long ago had finally healed a great deal, and they no longer felt as alone.

"I can't believe that I didn't recognize you until now…" Sephie said, gently breaking the embrace and looking upon her sister with still wet eyes.

"You and me both… Your name should have been a clue…" Monalisa said, wiping her tears as best she could. "But there was a lot going on at the time."

"Yeah, and now we can actually get to know each other again, and build our lives together here!"

"I know! It's like a miracle!"

"Come on, we have to tell the others the good news!" Sephie said, taking Monalisa's hand and hurrying down to the main hall.

The others were already gathered there, having finished their look around of the rooms.

"Hey, guys! Something truly wonderful just happened us!" Sephie said, barely able to contain herself.

"Really? What would that be?" Leonardo asked.

"Yeah. Have you two become a couple, or something?" said Michelangelo, having noticed that the girls were still holding hands.

"What? No, that's not it. But we have become closer than before." said Monalisa.

"What's going on?" Raphael asked.

"We've just learnt that we are actually long-lost sisters!" Sephie cheered.

"For real?!"

"Yes! Sephie and I haven't seen each other since our clan was attacked by bandits. That's almost twenty years ago. It was just now after we learned that we were of the same clan that we connected the dots."

"That's just awesome! What are the odds?!" said Michelangelo.

"Well, actually…" Donatello began, but Michelangelo interrupted him.

"Please don't answer that, you'll just give me a headache."

"This is great news." said Leonardo. "And I regret asking this, but I trust that this won't cause us any problems?"

"You don't have to worry, Leo." said Sephie. "We will just watch each others backs a bit more than we would have otherwise."

"Just like I thought." Leonardo said with a smile. "This actually saved us a little work, I was going to ask both of you your full names, so that Donatello and I can properly present our group to the jarl. It's best that she knows what people she is dealing with, and this way we show honesty."

"Speaking of which." Donatello said, turning to Tyroth. "Do you have a last name, clan name or similar?"

"Not to my knowledge." the Half-Dragon replied. "If I do, I was never told."

"I understand, then we will present you as such." said Leonardo. "By the way, has anyone seen Salem?"

"Not for the last two hours or so." said Tyroth.

"Strange, I would have thought that he wanted to have a say in some of this."

"He's probably away doing cat-stuff." said Michelangelo.

"Help! I need help!" they suddenly heard Salem call out, but his voice was distant and muffled.

The group hurried over to where the voice had come from, and they now heard more clearly where Salem's continued cries for help came from.

"He's in the chest!" Monalisa said, quickly opening it, revealing the black cat among all the treasure inside.

"Thank the gods! I've been stuck in here for over an hour!" Salem said.

"Why didn't you call for help sooner?" asked Sephie.

"It wasn't a problem until I ran out of treasure to count."

"What were you even doing in there in the first place?" asked Raphael.

"With all this treasure around, I had the urge to do this." Salem said, rolling over on his back and kept rolling around in the coins. "I'm rich! I'm rich!"

"I'm seriously starting to question if it's a good idea to keep him around." Raphael said as he picked up Salem and removed him from the chest.

"Hey, you gave your word to let me stay."

"Don't worry about that, you just have to behave yourself, just like everyone else." said Leonardo. "But now Donatello and I have to go. Hopefully, we will be able to get an audience today."

"Good luck, bros." said Michelangelo as he waved them off.

* * *

Cardena Keep was in the centre of the town, its five stories towering over all but a few buildings in Cardena. It wasn't as extravagant as many other seats of power, which could range from actual castles to palaces, it was a simple hexagonal stone tower, with the two lowest floor being guard barracks, and a dungeon in the basement underneath. The floors above that contained a kitchen for all of the keep, followed by the audience hall and finally the jarl's living quarters at the top. There were also several smaller rooms for various staff members, but those weren't of interest to the two Turtle brothers as they were led up through the keep by a quartet of guards.

Entering the audience hall, they were met by the sight of two guards fighting against a lone individual in slightly fancier armour, the helmets obscuring their faces.

Leonardo's first instinct was to rush in and stop the fighting, but seeing as none of the other eight guardsmen in the room wasn't doing anything, and neither were the four that had escorted Leonardo and Donatello there, he held his position and decided to wait and see.

After a few minutes of trading blows with both swords and shields, the two guardsmen soon found themselves knocked onto the floor, and after a short moment, one of the guards escorting the Turtles spoke up.

"My lady jarl." the female guard said, gaining the attention of the lone fighter. "Two Turtles are requesting an audience with you."

Removing the helmet, the fighter revealed her face, that of a fair human woman in her late twenties with short red hair with stripes of white in it. Her ice blue eyes swept over the Turtles, then she sheathed her sword and sat down on her throne at the far end of the room. No sooner had she done that, until a servant hurried up to her side.

"Would you be so kind as to fetch my steward for me?" she asked kindly. "And a mug of water while you're at it."

"Yes, milady."

Jarl Astrid kept her eyes trained on the two Turtles while she waited, seemingly studying them in great detail. A few minutes later, the servant returned with the mug of water, and shortly after, the steward. An Elven man, tall and proud with long blond hair, dressed in white robes with golden trims. Looking at the Turtles, his face shifted from indifferent to nothing short of a scowl.

"You summoned me, my jarl?" he asked dryly, keeping his eyes on the two brothers.

"I did, Tarmas. It was, after all, you who insisted to be present during all meetings and the like." Astrid said, just as dryly, then turning her attention back to her guests. "Now, you may approach, Turtles."

The two walked forward, with the four guardsmen closely behind them, only to stop and bow when they were twenty feet from the throne.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Astrid asked in a kind tone.

"We thank you for your time, jarl Astrid." Leonardo started. "I am Leonardo Hamato, and this is my brother, Donatello Hamato. We would wish to purchase the old inn by the central marketplace in the northern parts of town."

"The old inn, you say? Hmm… that must be the Broad Bunkhouse." said Astrid, taking a mouthful of water before continuing. "That establishment was shut down after it was discovered that it was actually a front for a cult practising humanoid sacrifices. After that, no-one has set foot inside the building, until that cat rented the entryway a few years ago. What was his name again?"

"Salem Saberhagen." said Donatello. "He is a friend of mine, and the one who suggested that we attempt to buy the building."

"I see. And what is it that you wish to do with it?"

"We want to turn it into our home, and an establishment of our own. Our idea is that people can hire our services for almost anything from guarding caravans to going on expeditions, finding missing people or items to hunting down dangerous creatures. Things that the guardsmen might often be tasked with, but not always have the time or resources for."

"You expect us to allow some lowly bounty hunters to establish themselves in our city!?" the Elf snapped, but Astrid responded by tossing her remaining water at him, stopping his outburst.

"That's enough, Tarmas!" she said in a stern voice. "I'll have you remember that my father used to be a 'lowly bounty hunter' before he became jarl. And it is thanks to him that we managed to avoid outright war with the Nation of the Southern Sands."

"My apologies, my jarl…" Tarmas said in a low voice through gritted teeth, wiping the water from his face.

"Apology accepted." she said with a smile, returning her attention to the Turtles. "I am willing to sell you he deed to the old inn, it's about time that someone made something of that place. And I wholeheartedly support your idea. Are there any more that will be included in this?"

"There are, my lady." Leonardo said with a quick nod. "We have two more brothers, Raphael and Michelangelo. The cat, Salem, will also be a part of this, as will two Lizard sisters, Sephie and Monalisa of Clan Freeheart, and Tyroth the Red Half-Dragon."

"A Chromatic Half-Dragon?!" Tarmas exclaimed. "And a red one at that?! You dare bring one of those horrible beasts here?! I will-"

"You will shut up, Tarmas, that's what!" Astrid again snapped at her steward. "You've done good work so far, don't give me any more reasons to find a replacement for you. Now let them explain this in more detail."

"Thank you, my jarl." Leonardo said, before continuing. "We are well aware of the nature of Half-Dragons, and their burdens, as is Tyroth himself, and he has seemingly dedicated himself to vanquishing any evil creatures."

"So far," Donatello cut in. "in the time that he has been in our company, he has killed a Gibbering Mouther, a Wight, a troll, multiple skeletons and zombies, and a Glabrezu. Quite an impressive list for only a few days."

"He despises his Dragon half, seeing it as a curse, but he has learned how to use the powers that come with it, and he uses them to fight monsters. I want to believe that I am a decently good judge of character, and while we've only known him for little less than two weeks, I am convinced that he can be trusted."

"I see. You are a Paladin, are you not? Of the Ancient One, unless I'm mistaken." Astrid asked, and Leonardo nodded. "Your order is known for being honest and honourable, so your word is enough for me."

Astrid took a few moments to think before continuing.

"If you want the old inn, it is yours for five thousand gold, and that will include a permit for your business. Tarmas will take care of the paperworks for that. Won't you, Tarmas?" she said, turning to her steward with a half smirk.

"...of course, my jarl…" he said with a forced bow. "I will begin at once…"

As the Elf walked away to prepare the necessary documents, the Turtles kept their eyes on him until he was out of sight.

"Good riddance." Astrid sighed, seemingly relaxing more now that he was gone. "He does good work, but he can be such a pain in the ass sometimes. No, make that all the time."

"He seemed to have some problem with us." said Donatello.

"Don't let that get to you, he's an ass to basically anyone. His name is Tarmas Cres, and he was originally meant to be the next jarl, or so he claims, but that title was given to my father for his services to Salvora, and then he passed it to me on his deathbed. But my father did employ him as steward and advisor, and while that would have been enough for most, it seems like Tarmas' ego has never really recovered from all that."

"I can imagine." said Leonardo.

"Anyway, I trust that you have the coin for this purchase, and that you know that you will buy the building in its current condition. You will have to see to any repairs on your own accord."

"We are aware, and I have already counted on the costs as well." said Donatello.

"How refreshing to have someone that knows what they are doing. Most other people that I've dealt with seem to expect that everything will be fixed for them." Astrid said with a smile. "Once the papers are signed, I'll have a group of guardsmen follow you to the inn. They will deliver the payment here once you have delivered it to them, then the place is yours."

"We understand." said Leonardo. "You will get the money as soon as possible."

"No need to hurry on my account, I still got more training to do." Astrid said with a smirk, glancing over at a few of the guardsmen, a few shifting a bit, and then at her mug. "Still need some more water though, I seem to have emptied my mug somehow. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy your new home."

"I'm sure we will. You have our gratitude."

"You're welcome. Oh, and one more thing. Have you decided on a name for your business?"

"I have, actually. I want us to be known as the Cardena Crusaders, and our home will be our Guild."

 **Seems like I got something in my eyes. That would be tears. for all those who tell yourself otherwise. I really tried to make Sephie and Mona's reunion as sisters as emotional as possible, and I think I did pretty good. :)**

 **And now the team has a base of their own, not to mention a name. Cardena Crusaders. I'll try to explain that a bit next time.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **Reality Check**

With all the papers signed, Leonardo and Donatello walked back to the old inn, where the others were waiting. Walking in through the entry hall, they soon found their friends, who were very eager to know how things had gone.

"So how did it go?" Sephie asked.

"Yeah, don't keep us in suspense." said Michelangelo.

"It went well." Leonardo said with a smile.

"All the papers have been signed according to form, with the exception of your signatures on the deed and permit." said Donatello.

"So this place is ours then?" asked Monalisa.

"Almost. Like I said, we still need your signatures, and they need to get paid." Donatello continued. "A group of guards are on their way here with the deed and permit, and to collect the payment. Once that's done, we officially own this building, and we can start our business as the Cardena Crusaders."

"Whoa, hold on! Cardena Crusaders? Who came up with that?" Raphael exclaimed.

"I did, Raphael." said Leonardo.

"What gives you the right to decide what we're gonna be called?!"

"Just listen, and I will explain. Jarl Astrid asked for the name of our business, something that we had forgotten to discuss, so I had to make a decision and I felt that this was a good name."

"But why 'Crusaders'? We're no crusaders."

"No, and while we will do this to make money and survive, we will be a none-profitable adventuring guild, with our main goal being to help others in need. I'm hoping that with Cardena Crusaders as our name, we will keep true to our ideals of a better life, that it will remind us of what's important and not get prideful, but instead stay humble and honest."

"That's some deep stuff. And I like the name, it brings about a certain respect as it rolls of the tongue." said Salem, repeating the name. "The Cardena Crusaders."

"I like it too." said Sephie. "It will take a lot of work to be worthy of such a name, but I'm sure we can do it."

"How much did all this cost, by the way?" Tyroth asked.

"Five thousand gold, well within our budget." Donatello answered. "We'll still have enough for all the repairs and furniture that we need, and a little bit more for living expenses as well."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the main door.

"I'll open." said Leonardo.

"Hey, if it's a blonde dwarf with his beard in a big braid, tell him I **don't** owe him money." Salem said, keeping his distance.

A few moments later, two guards walked in in the main hall together with Leonardo, both women. One was a rather muscular human, with her long black hair in a single braid, and the other one Raphael instantly recognised. The bald head and grey skin of this very large woman could only belong to Orgna Trollbane, the Goliath second in command of the guardsmen. He hadn't seen her since the incident at the Abyss before the expedition, but he had run into her a few times before that, and those times were not pleasant.

"We're here to collect the payment." Orgna said, putting her hands on her hips.

"We were just talking about that." said Donatello. "Just give us a few minutes, and we will count up all the coins for you in a chest here."

"Go on." she said, taking a quick look around. "So you're really going to do something with this place, huh? About time if you ask me. Looking forward to see how it goes for you all."

"It will be a challenge, but I'm certain that we will prevail." said Leonardo.

A few moments later, coins worth five thousand gold had been counted up and placed in one of the chests that the team had brought with them.

"There, that's all five thousand of them." said Donatello as he closed the lid and tied it down with a rope. "Sadly we have no key for this chest, so this will have to suffice."

"It will do good, kid." Orgna said, handing them some parchments. "Now you all just have to sign these and all will be done. One set for you and one for the archives."

"Easy enough." said Monalisa, as she and the others took turns signing all the parchments, and once they were done, they handed back one set to Orgna.

"There you go." Leonardo said.

"Great. Then the place is yours. Hope it will serve you well."

But as they were about to leave, the other woman struggled a bit with lifting the chest. Five thousand gold weighs quite a lot, and the chest as well.

"Put your back into it, Peg." Orgna said to her colleague. "Are you a man or a mouse?"

"Neither. I'm a woman." Peg said.

"Exactly! Then show them how it's done! Or better yet, let me!"

Orgna grabbed the chest and nearly effortlessly placed it on her shoulder, holding on to it with one arm. Peg was so caught off guard that she was actually lifted up together with the chest before she could let go. Looking back at the Crusaders, Orgna smiled.

"Good luck to you all." she said, then she looked at Raphael. "And stay out of trouble."

"Do you know her?" Leonardo asked his brother, once Orgna and Peg had left.

"We've… crossed paths a few times before."

"That means that he's gotten beat up and thrown in jail by her for stealing." Michelangelo clarified, earning an angry look from Raphael.

"Well, this place is officially ours then." Donatello said, changing the subject before a fight could break out. "And we got a lot of work to do on it."

"But… what do we do with our old home?" Michelangelo asked. "Are we just gonna leave that shack?"

"I don't really know, Michelangelo." said Leonardo. "It isn't in the best of shape any more."

"If you ask me," Tyroth said. "I say that you take whatever you want to keep, and then tear it apart, reuse the material that is still good, and use the rest for firewood."

"You can't be serious! That's our home you're talking about!" Raphael snapped.

"Raphael, please. Tyroth got a point."

"Not you too!"

"Listen, you've lived there all your life, and I lived there for several years as well, but if we are to build a new life here in our Guild, we have to be able to move on. I had to do that after… the incident, and I know how it can hurt. But if our old home can provide our new home with anything, then I say that that is a worthy end of it."

"Hmm, I see your point, but I still don't like it. I guess we'll just have to see what happens."

"Well, if you guys do that, I'll keep watch here, especially on the treasure." said Salem.

"Just don't get yourself trapped in the chest again." said Sephie, as she and the others headed out.

"Me? I wouldn't dream of it." Salem said. "This time I'll make sure the lid stays up."

* * *

It was with heavy hearts that the four Turtles looked at the old shack that had been their home since the time their grandfather was still alive. Together with their friends, they gathered all of their personal possessions from it, bringing it all back to the Guild, and once they were done with that, Tyroth systematically pulled the shack apart on board at a time.

Donatello investigated each and every part to see if they could still be used, but with how old and rundown the shack had been, only a few pieces of wood were still of good enough quality. Like with the other items recovered, all of the pieces were brought back to the Guild for future use.

Once they had gotten back and left the items, they gathered coin and items for trade, and headed out to purchase proper building material, tools, furniture, and some food. The blacksmiths were more than happy to trade tools and metal materials for the various pieces of armour and weapons, while carpenters and other salesmen preferred the more precious items, such as goblets, silverwares and jewellery, and coins worked just as well at any store.

The team would continue to make more purchases as time went on, buying furniture for the rooms they had finished, focusing firstly on the kitchen and larder, so that they could get proper meals every day. After that, they worked on the main hall, working on replacing damaged and worn floorboards, ceiling, walls and the stairs up to the second floor.

Next was the second floor, with the same work as the ground floor, fixing the floors, walls and ceiling, as well as the doors to all the rooms, followed by the remaining areas in the basement. There were also a lot of work on the outside, both the roof and the walls, with the windows included, and once they were done with that, they still had the small garden and the fence surrounding it.

All the work would take a few weeks, but with everyday, the Guild became more and more of a home that they group needed. And many adventures would start there.

* * *

Back in the lair, the blank eyes of the seven mutants returned to normal, and for a short moment, they all looked around confused, initially not recognising where they were.

"Whoa… now that was immersive…" Michelangelo said.

"What the bloody shell happened?!" Raphael exclaimed, his eyes darting between all the others trying to find someone to blame or demand an explantation from.

"I… I don't know… that's never happened the times I've played before." said Monalisa.

"Tyroth?" Sephie asked, looking at her mate.

The dragon mutant quickly grabbed the quartz die and examined it closely, his eyes narrowing as he let his magic search it.

"No way! It's enchanted!"

"What?! I thought you said it wasn't!" said Donatello.

"And it wasn't! I made sure of that! There wasn't a trace of magical energies in it before, but now there is a powerful enchantment in it!"

"But how did that happen? And what kind of enchantment are we talking about?" said Leonardo.

"I can answer both of those questions for you, my mutant friends." said an eerily jolly and familiar voice, and mere seconds later, a familiar figure materialised from a cloud of mist that swept into the room.

"Fumetsu?!" Sephie cried out in shock, rising to her feet, as did all the others.

"No way! He really is alive! Just like Tyroth said!" said Raphael.

"Well, I'm not called Immortal Mist for nothing." the strange entity said as if was nothing special.

"What do you want?!" Tyroth snapped, glaring hard at Fumetsu.

"Oh, I was just bored, so I decided to add a little twist to your game session."

"'A little twist'? What do you mean?" Leonardo asked.

"With the enchantment I put into the quartz die, you are now able to experience this game of yours in a whole new way, as if you were truly there, but without your real knowledge and memories interfering with that of your characters. I also put a tiny part of myself in it too, so I was acting like the DM for the game as well. Other than that, there is nothing more about that die, you can doublecheck that if you want to. If you want to continue using it, then by all means, and if not, well then just put it in a box somewhere and it won't do a thing."

"So you're saying that everything we experienced was just a story? It was all fake?" asked Donatello.

"Quite so. In other words, the ultimate virtual reality game."

"And what do you get out of all this?" asked Tyroth.

"As I said, I was bored, and this has been very entertaining. But I think I will be leaving now."

With that, Fumetsu dissolved into mist, but his voice remained for one final sentence.

"Until we play again, ta ta!"

"Is that guy for real?! I couldn't believe it when you said that he was still alive, Tyroth. Not after how Sephie tore him to pieces." said Mona.

"And that didn't even seem to annoy him." said Tyroth, still holding the quartz die. "I told you all that there is something almost otherworldly about him."

"No kidding! Now what?" said Michelangelo.

"I don't know." Tyroth said, looking back at the die. "But it seems like he was telling the truth about this enchantment, so if we would want to use it, it would be safe to do so."

"Why would we want to do that?" said Raphael.

"You may not share my thoughts, but I don't get the feeling that he is an enemy. If he were, I don't think that we would be here right now."

"I agree." said Leonardo. "When we fought him, he completely dominated not only us, but Casey, Devina and the Chicago Knights as well. Had he wanted us dead, we wouldn't have survived that encounter."

"Exactly." Tyroth continued. "So if we want to use the die to keep playing like we've done, it feels like it is safe. Personally, in hindsight, this was quite entertaining. Like both watching a movie and playing it at the same time."

"I have to agree on that." said Monalisa. "Thinking back on it all, the memories we have from this adventure, they feel fond. Though, I wish that we hadn't made such tragic backstories for our characters. I can still feel how devastated my character was when her clan was attacked."

"Ditto! But at least it wasn't real, so there's no harm done." said Sephie. Then she looked at the clock on the wall. "Wait, has it really only been five minutes?!"

"Five minutes?! You're saying that we just experienced over twenty years each in just five minutes?!" Raphael exclaimed.

"Another Narnia effect? Just like when we went to Skyrim?" Michelangelo groaned.

"Not quite." said Donatello. "I think it's more that our brains processed everything as fast as they can, with these memories being fed directly into our minds."

"Is that even safe?" Leonardo asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. I would think that it isn't, but so far we're not feeling any ill effects of it. And I don't think more uses of this die will cause any harm if it hasn't by now, but it's magic, so I'm not sure."

"I'll give this thing a few really thorough examinations tomorrow." said Tyroth. "And if it still feels safe, I say that we use it, if everyone is okay with that."

"I don't know. Not sure I feel comfortable with it, Tyroth." said Leonardo.

"I agree with you, Fearless." said Raphael.

"Trust me, guys, I understand that. And I will keep checking up on this die every now and then, regardless of what we decide to do with it."

"How about we leave this discussion for another day, like tomorrow?" said Sephie. "All this adventuring was a bit draining actually."

"Yeah, but it was fun too." said Michelangelo. "It was really awesome to use magic for once. Wouldn't mind doing it again."

"We'll see, Mikey." said Leonardo. "How about we watch a movie before we head to bed, since we have the time, and we could use something to take our minds off this for a while."

"Sounds okay to me." said Monalisa.

The mutants packed up all the Dungeons and Dragons things, having had enough of that for the moment, and then headed to the TV area to decide on a suitable movie. But Tyroth remained behind for a while, holding the quartz die in his hand again.

It had surely been an adventure without its like, and maybe they would continue it one day, but not that night. Placing the die in a plastic bag, to know where it is until they could find a suitable box to store it in, Tyroth then left to join the others. But he had a feeling that this wasn't the last time they visited the fictional world of Gaia, and he couldn't help but smile a little at that possibility.

He also wondered if maybe, just maybe, he could actually learn the Fire Dragon Slayer arts.

 **And so ends this story, with the team now possessing a very interesting object. But don't despair, this is more of a hiatus than a true end, for I got more ideas for this story line, but that will have to continue in Book 2, if any. It kinda depends on how much you guys want that.**

 **See you soon, in one story or another. :)**


End file.
